Selling Our Souls
by Zonex Krypton
Summary: The fragile bond between four friends is breaking apart due to certain specific girls. What happens when your past catches up to meet your future in the present? Certainly not anything good. Fudou Akio, Sakuma Jirou, Genda Koujirou and Kidou Yuuto must struggle to preserve their most precious possession.
1. Barren Existance

**I don't own Inazuma Eleven nor do I own its characters~**

* * *

The sun beat down upon his back as he trudged down the sandy dunes. He knew he was going to die- he could feel it in his bones. It had been a full three hours since he had drained the last of his water supply and now he was stranded in the middle of the blazing desert underneath the scorching sun with no hopes of survival.

Technically, he was a dead man walking. He knew it wouldn't be long till he began to hallucinate due to lack of fluid and wondered what it was like to die of dehydration.

If someone had told him he would die of dehydration a week ago, he would have laughed at them- unable to imagine the terrible necessity of water till now. He squinted his eyes against the bright light and in the distance, he was able to make out a beautiful girl running towards him from a small white cave.

_I must be going crazy. _

His mind signaled to him that it was a mirage so he closed his eyes and sighed as his knees sagged underneath the combined weight of his torso and his despair. His hands clenched as he hit the burning sandy ground and he immediately turned to the Lord to help him through the painful ordeal known as death with ease. He could hear the girl's screams echo over and over in his mind.

Maybe she was an angel- here to help him to get to the other side. He fervently hoped he had been good enough to be permitted into Heaven. He scrutinized her feebly as she neared him and his confirmed what his brain had earlier assumed.

The girl had flowing white tresses and wonderfully pale skin. She stood out against the bleak desert sand and although it was apparent she was running for all that she was worth, he knew that she was too late to help him now.

He was going to die without assistance to relieve the pain of losing his soul. His entire being was craving water- even if it was only a tiny minuscule drop.

_No more heat. I couldn't stand it anymore. Please let me go to Heaven. _

His heart beat wildly before everything started going black.

_I hope the others remember me and don't feel sad about my death. I hope Fudou forgives me for everything I've ever said to him which was mean…. Even if that guy really asked for it at times._

The world was spinning before him and he blacked out just as a pair of soft hands reached him- falling into the darkness whilst a voice screamed from the shadows.

Floating in the middle of the darkness, all he could remember was his memories with his friends. He reminisced about the good old days when all of his friends had been united and hadn't gone their separate ways – when they had played soccer together and when their friendship had been unmarred by suspicion and animosity.

When they had trusted each other with their lives. When they had been like brothers, laughing and kidding around.

A pang of loneliness shot through him like a bullet. It had all been that girl's fault. It was surprising really, what a girl could do to a guy. Surprising how a single girl could change a guy so much that he was almost unrecognizable later on. The damned bitch had come into their midst like a sheep in wolf's clothing and had destroyed their trust forever.

Nothing had been the same since she came and disrupted the balance all four friends had had for so long. As the memories rushed at him, he began to panic. It was too much to handle. All the things he had managed to keep at bay were now loose- ready to wreak havoc upon his sanity.

He tried to run from them but his feet seemed to be frozen in time, unable to move a single inch. He watched in horror as the tide of his repressed memories washed over him- swallowing him up like a tsunami does a beach. All he could do was curl up and hope it passed quickly but in vain.

It was after a long stretch of time when the tide receded but those excruciating moments had been painful enough to seem like eternity.

He could hear voices now- gentle voices which soothed his ravaged mind and were like a balm to his aching soul. He opened his eyes and shook his head to clear the foggy mist surrounding him. The voice seemed so much clearer now- so much more alive and filled with grief and hope.

He squinted, trying to see past the fog in order to locate the person to whom the voice belonged. He wanted to see the person who was whispering such beautiful lies into his ear. Suddenly, he spotted a distant light- faint but visible through the thick fog.

He jumped up, ignoring the shrieks of pain from his partly numb and aching body- focused only on reaching the light. Deluded and delirious as he was, he could still feel that the light was better than the darkness he was currently in.

His only hope was that it wasn't a snake which had been feeding his soul gilded lies upon a silver platter to attain his attention just to steal his soul. He stumbled toward the light, hands outstretched and a strange glint in his eye.

He wouldn't give up no matter what. As he neared the light, his doubt slid into oblivion. No snake or devil could ever fake warmth like the calming bright light. He finally reached it and as the light bathed him, he felt at peace.

He could feel the memories raging against their cage but he merely smiled- his face upturned towards the light as he let the barriers he had built up come crashing down around him to release the evils in his mind.

His only consolation was that whoever was sending the light down on him would let no harm come to him and the panic he felt at fist instantly evaporated, leaving him to revel in the warm white light. As he was basking in the radiance, he was suddenly reminded of the fair haired angel who had been running towards him.

He smiled unconsciously and closed his eyes as a slight tug pulled him up into the air- remembering the way her face had seemed anguished when he had blacked out.

Wait…He hadn't seen her face before her blacked out. He instantly opened his eyes- puzzled by his discovery to come face to face with a wide-eyed girl who was, at the moment, nearly dead on her feet. He immediately yelped in surprise and shock, wildly searching the room for a clue as to where he was.

Maybe he was in Heaven. She was an angel after all- an angel who had just saved him from the clutches of the darkness inside him. He saw her jade orbs widen with shock and then fill with sudden, sparkling tears. Why was she crying if he was in Heaven?

A sick feeling consumed him and made his heart dropped to his feet. Hadn't she meant to rescue him from the darkness? Was she going to toss him back into the black? Back into Hell?

There was no way he was going to stand that. Not while he had the power to do something about it. He couldn't go back to that bottomless black hole- the dark pit which seemed to feed upon his devastation and deepest fears.

He was instantly on his feet, raving and sputtering whatever came into his mouth. He didn't know what he said during those agonizing five minutes but the angel immediately silenced him with a look and ushered him to sit down on what he saw was the bed upon which he had been lying until now with a wave of the hand.

He sat down cautiously, eying the holy creature with wary eyes- ready to bolt at any moment- his eyes searching for a sign of escape.

"Why can't I stay in Heaven? I know you have to follow orders and everything but can't you just let me stay?" He hadn't meant to say it but it was just as well that he had blurted it out. It had been the very question which had been tormenting his thoughts since the moment he had entered the darkness. The angel's head spun around to gaze at him- numerous expressions flitting on her face as she fixed him with a gaze of shock.

He suddenly felt ashamed of himself even before she opened her holy mouth to speak. He couldn't question the Lord's decision. It was not his right- he must have done something to offend the laws of the Lord which was why he had been subjected to the pain and the never-ending darkness.

He cast his gaze down on the ground when he felt something warm make its way into his hands. He looked at the bowl of soup with curiosity and shock as he heard the angel laughing softly. He stared at her with fascination.

His mother had once told him that angels were so beautiful that they dimmed everyone else by comparison. She had been right about angels being beautiful but this angel seemed to brighten everything else in its presence. His mother had been wrong or this angel was simply special.

He continued to watch as she doubled over with laughter. Strange. He had never thought of angels as females- Come to think of it, he had never really paid much attention to the matter at all but now his mind reeled with curiosity and wonder.

He watched as her shoulders shook with laughter and her eyes glittered like emeralds set in her face. Her hair was not platinum white, rather it was the soft white of clouds with a few black streaks like the signs of dark storm clouds in the midst of white fluffy cotton and she was slightly tanned. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and smiled at him, revealing a perfect set of even white teeth which flashed at him brightly.

He was thrown off his lane of thought by the smile. Her teeth were not exactly perfectly even although they had seemed to be so at first glance. They were a little crooked and her hair was not flowing smooth either but had a slight wave in them which made it seem rather kinky on the whole.

Now he was really intrigued. He had always thought angels would be perfect. What kind of an angel was this? He waited for her to calm down while he quickly surveyed the room they were in.

"What's the matter?" He asked her, cocking his head to the side- perplexed by her sudden fit of hysterical giggles.

"You thought you were in Heaven!" She burst out, the lines of her laughter still etched upon her face. He stared at her in complete and utter bewilderment. Of course he was in Heaven- wasn't he?

But the truth began to sink into his mind. The room he was currently in was nothing like the fields which his mother had described to him in his youth. Where were the robed pure ones? The flowing rivers of holy water and the other promised gifts?

This room was filled with musty old furniture and ancient thread bare Persian rugs. He could have sworn the white box-like object on the wall was an air conditioner which explained the cool air. No, this wasn't heaven which meant-

"You aren't an angel." He said it slowly, testing it out. It was more of a statement than a question but she nodded regardless of it. He saw the light in her eyes which showed that she was still amused but he also saw the tiny sliver of pity in her eyes.

She pointed to his now-cold bowl of soup. "Drink it. You'll feel better if you do."

He cautiously raised a spoonful to his mouth and tasted it, decided it was delicious and drained the entire bowl clean in a few moments. She watched him while he greedily gulped down the water she offered him before answering his unspoken plea for information.

"I was outside because I wanted to see the sun shine after a hard day's work. Imagine my surprise at finding you, half-dead and unconscious on the desert floor. What the hell were you doing out there anyway? You would have been a goner if I hadn't brought you here! Daddy said that there was no point in trying to save you but I tried anyway. And I'm glad I did."

She smiled at him reproachfully, her eyes friendly and cheerful- the haunted look having vanished now that he was conscious and talking. He suddenly understood why she was so intrigued.

She probably never had any visitors. Living out here in the barren desert- a no man's land, had cut her off from the world outside,

She hadn't been exposed to the cruel ways of the world which was why she had tried so hard to save him. He suddenly felt himself overcome with gratitude.

"Thank you. For everything." He whispered, not quite trusting his voice at the moment. He averted his eyes as she nodded briefly, understanding the emotions behind the simple statements and the unspoken words which clouded the atmosphere.

Then, just as she was about to say something, a sudden booming voice startled them both- nearly making them jump out of their skins.

"ANNIE! Come here IMMEDIATELY!"

The voice obviously belonged to her father because the girl addressed as Annie jumped up and left the room without a backward glance- leaving him to gaze at the door she shut behind her. It was a few moments before he shakily got up to his feet and made his way out of the room unsteadily- using the wall to support his movements.

He spotted a burly man with a mane of copper hair talking to Annie condescendingly, his face holding an expression of exasperation. He seemed to be irked with her about something she had done. He suddenly scowled and snapped at her to shut up and stay in her room.

With his weight pressing down on his knees and almost forcing them to buckle beneath him, he stared at her with scrutiny to see that her face was pale and her hands were clenched and shaking although she said nothing to indicate that she was offended and angry.

She didn't look like an angel anymore. She looked more like a normal teenage girl now- her eyes narrowed while she spun around and stomped away down the hallway- to some other room perhaps. He was making his way over to Annie's father when he caught sight of himself in a mirror on the wall.

Tumbling white locks met his eyes and a cold metallic eye patch which he had acquired through surgery. His eye had been pierced and wasted in a car accident which had left his loved ones with no choice but surgery to save what was left of his vision.

After the car accident, Sakuma Jirou had never been the same. He had revered life and had always been a bit more serious- considering his second chance a miracle granted to him by the Bountiful.

He had not minded the setback it proved to be in soccer and neither had he cared about how ghastly it made him look- caring only about the fact that he was alive and cherished it.

And now he had eluded Death's cold, morbid grasp yet again. He had never been more overwhelmed with gratefulness and love. He smiled back at the teenage boy in the mirror and the smile widened when the image smiled back at him.

Well, he mused; at least he had gotten a tan while he was at it. He chuckled and moved on and in a few minutes, was deep in conversation with the burlesque man who was apparently Mr. Matsukaze. Sakuma managed to convince him to call Japan's national security service and soon, he was wrapped in the comfortable blanket of thoughts- ensured that he would be home soon. He hated the desert.

He should have never come out here in the first place but he was an adventurer by nature and he had wanted to see it with his own eyes-well, eye.

He had loved it from inside the air conditioned tour bus where there was plenty of water but when the bus had a stopped for a pit stop, he had managed to get lost and that was when Annie had found him- unconscious and nearly dead from lack of water underneath the boiling heat of the sun.

He stepped outside the quaint little house and a sudden rush of hot air blasted into his face to greet him. He winced but made his way out anyway, closing the door behind him to keep the sand from entering the neat hallway. While he was outside, he suddenly had the feeling that someone was watching him and the hair on the back of his neck prickled.

He turned around to see Annie standing there, hesitant and hidden in a small recess where the sun could not reach her.

"Hi!" She said softly so as to avoid alerting her father of her location. He smiled back at her, his single eye brightening. She was his only friend here in this desert. She had been the one who had saved him when everyone else had given up. He felt a sudden rush of affection for the girl in front of him.

"Right back at you! What are you doing here? I thought you were inside." He muttered back, making his way towards her. If Annie had been afraid of him before, she did not show any signs of it now- smiling at him brilliantly from the shadows.

"There's a back gate you know but you wouldn't know about that. What's your name anyway?" She was smiling mischievously now, her viridian eyes aglow with light.

"I'm Sakuma Jirou and you?" They both knew he already knew but he asked her anyway to show that he wanted to hear it from her instead. He knew from the sudden sparkle in Annie's eyes that she was grateful for this slight act of mercy on his part.

"Annie Matsukaze. Oh! I guess your bus is here. See you later Sakuma!" And she was suddenly out of sight, seeming to vanish into thin air. Sakuma turned around to see that the bus was indeed making its way towards the ram shackled house slowly. He felt a smile tug at his lips as he stared into the distance.

He was finally going home. Maybe he could even get his friends back. As he turned towards the sunset, he knew one thing about his future for sure. He was never going to forget Annie Matsukaze.


	2. Repressed Memories

"Yo Egg-heads! You're wasting water!" Sakuma's voice rose above the din of the playground where his friends were having a water fight. They all stopped emptying their water bottles on each other and stared at the albino with bated breaths, waiting for him to continue.

"Don't you know there's someone out there who is probably dying for fresh water and here you are, splashing it about like some teenage bimbos from a stupid soap opera set on a beach. I thought you guys knew better!" His voice was edged with steel, his gaze hardening with every word he spat out at them with narrowed eyes.

Fudou Akio was the first to respond to his vehemence. A scowl crossed his face as he arrogantly regarded the bronze teenager before him.

"Yeah, yeah ,yeah! We all know you're such a bleeding do-gooder. Its just that the rest of us haven't lost our sanity to the desert sun yet!" And the tattooed boy left the challenge to Sakuma's authority hanging in the air before smirking and emptying the remnant water droplets in Sakuma's direction mockingly.

"Take it if you want it that bad." And with that, he walked away with a slight swagger in his movements- obviously satisfied with having enraged Sakuma the way he had. For a few moments, Sakuma was so furious, he could barely muster up a response to Fudou's taunts but after a few seconds, he shook his head to get rid of the drops of water which had made their way to his face when Fudou had splashed water in his direction.

"I'm sorry Sakuma. We shouldn't have done that." A quiet voice broke through the awkward silence as a hand pressed on his shoulder to assure him that he wasn't alone. Sakuma twisted his neck to look at Kidou Yuuta- his best friend since the tender age of nine. It had been a full ten years since their friendship began but to Sakuma, Kidou was still as honest and trustworthy as before.

Well- almost anyway.

It was just his new friend who bothered him. If truth was to be told, Fudou Akio could not even be called their friend. He had just recently joined their college and had also been accepted in the soccer club. Ever since then, he had hung out with Sakuma's friend more or less as he had no other friends whatsoever.

And that was not a surprise, considering his attitude towards- just about everyone. He only person he had actually tolerated had been a girl who had met them in high school when Sakuma and Kidou had avoided Fudou like the plague. She had been so understanding that even rough and crabby Fudou had opened up to her.

Too bad she cheated on him with Kidou.

Just thinking about the girl made him glance at his friend out of the corner of his eye. He remembered how heart broken his best friend had been and how utterly crushed his spirits had remained for so long after she moved away after their first year of high school. It had taken him a full three months to recover fully from the shock and emotional torture of the break up.

But she hadn't technically broken up with him- just been caught making out with Fudou in the parking lot on his birthday. That was how she had played it out. Her motive, when asked, had been that she hated ass-holes who thought too much of themselves.

Sakuma shook his head to clear his thoughts before smiling at Kidou- chapped lips cracking slightly.

Kidou smiled back at his friend, clearly assured that Sakuma was fine now when a sudden voice broke through their silence.

"AWWWW! How cute! You gays ought to have remembered I'm still here before going all goo-goo eyes at each other!" The sarcastic voice belonged to a smirking brunette who tossed his empty water bottle into the nearby trash can, watching it sail straight into the bin without touching the sides.

Laughing, Kidou removed his hand from Sakuma's shoulder and Sakuma, himself couldn't help but smile. Everyone was well aware of Genda's love for girls. It was ridiculous really because although he was always out with some girl or the other, he couldn't seem to hang on to one for more than a month or so. His current girl friend was none other than Yukira Imai, the head cheerleader of the soccer team's cheer leading squad.

"Speak for yourself Genda! Anyway, why are you on the soccer team again? You could just be on the basket ball team but no, you have to be on both teams." Kidou's voice was relaxed as he gently chided his other best friend with a smile.

"Hey! Its not my fault I wasn't a born genius who doesn't NEED extra credit. We're not ALL flawless you know and Sakuma, you have GOT to lighten up man! It was just fun!" Genda's blue eyes were sparkling with exuberance as he parred his friend's verbal attack.

Sakuma shook his head while Kidou muttered profanities before punching Genda's shoulder lightly and then opened his mouth to reply only to be beaten by Kidou.

"Well, if you got off your lazy ass and studied a bit, you might just get the grades you want without crying like a baby! What with all your girlfriends, no wonder you don't have time to open a book. I bet your books have cobwebs on them!"

Sakuma sensed an argument rising so he quickly interceded before it got ugly.

"You're right Genda, I'm a bit too uptight but you know I'm right! You shouldn't waste something which is so precious to so many." Sakuma smiled as the three friends succeeded in wiping the remnant water off of themselves.

They strolled to their dorms slowly, chatting away about the college and the crappy food. He breathed a mental sigh of relief when Genda and Kidou forgot about their argument and started laughing and joking around as usual- the tension having been drained away but Sakuma knew better than to expect it to have vanished into oblivion.

It had simply taken refuge in a hole where it would reside until the next time they fought. Sakuma's mind reeled with worry but he knew he would just smooth things over as usual.

It was the way things had always been: Sakuma had been the peace keeper, always smoothing out the creases in the fluttering flag which was their friendship. He was a born pacifist. Kidou had been the genius, the rather patronizing leader who had led them through so many battles and had always been the one the others went to when they needed help. Genda had joined Sakuma and Kidou later on, at age thirteen in middle school when the two friends had been inseparable but he had still wormed his way into the their picture, smiling and laughing as time passed. And now, he was still the joker, never serious which was always at odd with Kidou who was nothing but serious.

And Fudou. He had met them back when they had been in high school but he hadn't been their friend until a year ago- always avoiding everyone who tried to approach him and rebuking people left and right.

He still wasn't fit to be called a friend in Sakuma's opinion but Kidou had accepted him- tolerating his obnoxious and slightly obscene presence. Sakuma envied Kidou his patience at times like…..When Fudou was there with them. Sakuma never had understood the tattooed boy and Fudou did nothing to help him whatsoever.

They reached the dorm in no time at all, the sun shining lazily on their backs- providing the warmth which went deeper than they thought, reaching their minds and hearts. Or maybe it was just the presence of their friends which made them laugh, joke and squabble like children as if they really were back to the age of six when nothing mattered except your brothers from other mothers.

Although, Sakuma thought wryly, Genda might take it another way. Was there no end to his dumb jokes? And still mulling over that thought, Sakuma and his friends made their way to their respected rooms. They bid each other farewell whilst entering their rooms- they were lucky they had been given rooms on the same floor which were next to each other.

Oh well, Sakuma mused, nothing better to do than study for tomorrow's pop quiz. And grinning widely, he propped his feet up on his table, toed a book aside and picked up his music player whilst reaching for the earphones.

Before he selected a song to flood his ears with an upbeat rhythm to block his thoughts out, Sakuma wondered about the next day and the upcoming events. He just hoped it was better than today since it had been so dull, it was maddening except for the scene on the field of course.

Closing his eyes and relenting to the crazy pulsating beats of the song, he closed his eyes and her face floated into his mind. He had even returned to the desert and had searched for her but he hadn't been able to find her or her family.

It was as if all traces of them had been wiped out. None of the locals remembered them, neither was their house there anymore nor was the family anywhere in the area.

Her face was blurred by memory but her jade green eyes seemed to haunt him, as if jewels in a ghost's face. Her flowing mane of dual floating cloudy waves was imprinted in his memory along with other minor detail like the curve of her lips and her perfect cupid's arch; her slightly tanned skin which was smooth and unblemished. The millions of other details washed over him- flooding him with longing and grief.

He so wanted to meet her again. He had promised to himself and to her although the promise had been unspoken, that he would come back and introduce her to his friends.

Although he remembered everything about her, the little details and her voice and her crooked smile, he just couldn't get put together the pieces to see the whole picture. It was as if he was missing a piece in a puzzle, looking at a mystery with a few clues lost and thus unable to see the answer to the riddle.

He could only faintly remember her smile when she had first stuck her hand out towards him, an unspoken bond forming then between the two teens. He was nine-teen now but he still held onto the possibility of meeting her someday.

He wouldn't give up the hopes of meeting her. After all, she had been the one who had taught him that losing hope was a terrible folly- the worst of all sins.

He sat down on his bed and lost track of time, tapping his feet in time with the music and eventually drifting off to sleep.

* * *

"_Get lost Jirou! I don't need you and you know it! I've known it all my life, she's just the one who helped me realize it fully after all this time. I can't believe I wasted my time on someone weaker than myself!" Kidou's voice was cutting and cold as he glared at Sakuma, furious that he had insulted her- the love of his life who had come spinning to their school, wrapped in glitzy glamour and lies. _

_Sakuma opened his mouth to argue but shut it on second thought. It would make no difference to Kidou what he said now, he was too far gone by now to even understand anything. He was just content to hear whatever that bitch fed him. Well, Sakuma thought smugly, it was better that she was cheating on him and with Fudou of all people. He would realize his own mistake then. _

_He watched her walk away and meet her who he knew had been waiting for him-watching him to do her bidding just a short distance away- acting on the trust of her whispered lies and heinous rumors. Sakuma couldn't bear to watch his friend cash and burn any longer. _

_Not that Kidou didn't deserve it but simply because he was like the brother Sakuma had always wanted. If he couldn't help him, he didn't want to watch the show end either. His mind made up, an expression of dull loathing- blatant and clear, crossed his face as he glanced at her one last time before getting up to pack his belongings into his suitcase. _

_He was never going to come back- no matter what._

* * *

Sakuma woke up with a jolt, beads of cold sweat trickling down his forehead as he breathed heavily- music jarring through his ears. It had only been a nightmare. It wasn't going to happen again. And if it did, he was going to be ready this time- he wouldn't abandon his friend at the mercy of a bitch like her ever again.

He glanced out the window and noticed to his shock that it was pitch black outside. How long had he been asleep anyway? He quickly checked the wall clock which showed the time to be three am. He pulled the earphones off and switched the music player off- surprised that the batteries had lasted for nearly ten hours straight.

He fluffed his pillow before resting his head against it, his eyes beginning to droop even after the long nap. Before he relented to the pulling darkness, he thought to check which song had been playing on the music player. He read the name but the only reaction he had was to yawn and fall back into the endless abyss of his nightmares.

His music player fell from his relaxed grip and fell to the side- the play list showed the name 'Vanilla Twilight' by Owl City but Sakuma had been too sleepy to notice, his mind fogged by exhaustion.

If he had noticed then he would have sworn it was an omen a few hours later, warning him to be prepared for the following day's events.


	3. Good Things Never Come By Free

Sakuma was sullen today, his mood totally off due to the streak of bad luck he had run into recently. This morning, he had nicked himself whilst shaving, tripped thirteen times already, forgotten everything about the human skeletal system the moment he had received the paper from his professor and was only hoping for a passing grade at the moment, had misplaced his carefully done homework and to make it worse, he had had nightmares about the past.

He shook his head angrily, infuriated that his treacherous mind was dredging up old painful memories. Hadn't Kidou apologized? Hadn't Genda and Kidou sworn to never let a woman get in between their friendship again?

It was just his luck. Dammit, he knew that Mondays were out to get him. He hated everything about today.

What he wouldn't give to just be able to curl up and sleep it out in the comfort of his own room.

His mood was still black and brooding when he made his way to his last class, sitting in his usual seat with a slightly audible thud, his mouth set in a grim scowl. He fiddled with his pen whilst the rest of the class filtered in- Kidou and Genda amongst them, their faces questioning as they made their way towards the seats on either side of him.

His mood rose slightly only to plummet again when he caught sight of a tattooed guy slipping into a seat beside Kidou. Heaven knew why they tolerated each other anyway; they were like two opposite forces which collided all the time. He sighed in frustration. Guess that wise old asshole knew what he was saying when he had said that opposites attract.

He was still in a gloom when a sudden ball of paper hit him on the head. His spun his head angrily to look at who had thrown the projectile his way- furious that someone had dared to interrupt his gloomy thoughts.

Grinning, Dylan Kieth caught his eye and motioned for him to read it and then to pass it over to Kidou and Genda. God, it was impossible to fume at the friendly blond American transfer student. He sighed and picked up the note slowly before uncrumpling it and reading the words written on it.

"_Have you seen the new girls? Mark has and says they're hot! We have them in this class!"_

Sakuma's eyebrows rose up until he was sure they were touching his hairline. He crumpled the note up contemptuously and passed it over to Kidou from under his desk so as to avoid being seen by the teacher. He was still scowling when the door to the class room opened widely, not cautiously which meant that it was probably a teacher who was sure of himself or herself. Maybe it was the librarian, Sakuma mused, intrigued by the simple act of the door's swing.

But as fate would have it, it turned out to be a student and not a teacher. Two students who were totally unconcerned about being late and who did not care about breaking the strict rules of Raimon College sauntered into the large class room. He saw the faces of his class mates as they caught sight of the new girls as they stood side by side, whispering and occasionally giggling.

Mark's face lit up, Dylan's smile widened and his eyebrows raised a fraction which was a feat for the newcomer to accomplish. They had just arrived and managed to get the most laid back guy to raise his eyebrows at them- plus, he hardly had any to raise so he usually saved it for when he was really amused. But Sakuma knew Dylan wouldn't let the girls know that, he would rather play it cool. It was unbelievable how experienced the American transfer student was at handling girls.

Natsumi's eyes narrowed- goody two shoes as she was. Genda's and just about every guy's eyes widened while all the girls looked either murderous or shocked but Genda was not appraising the girls at all. He ogled at them with wide eyes- well, maybe at just one of them.

The teacher himself seemed flustered with them, not at all reproachful that they were late and had rudely interrupted their class without knocking once. In fact, he seemed to be happy that they were in his class at all. Typical male, Sakuma snorted inaudibly but despite his sarcasm, he couldn't help but stare at her himself.

Loose violet tresses which flowed till her shoulder blades -shining as if they had been spun from silk; pale white skin which reminded him of snow- pure, white and icy cold, curving lips and amusement dancing in her eyes- one of the new girls swept a searching gaze over the class and nodded amiably. He didn't know why but he thought she looked cold although her glossed lips were spread in a smile- perhaps because it was oddly malicious on her face, considering he knew how many times it had appeared when she was doing something under handed.

Maybe it was due to the fact that her eyes were fringed with dark lashes and were enormous- the strangest color he had ever seen; a blazing turquoise which seemed to be shimmering with blue, silver and green high lights.

Or maybe it was because it was her- so uncannily like the wicked witch of the West from where she had come back from.

_I wish she had stayed wherever she went- probably hell. It would have made life so much easier. With her in the damned picture, I doubt Kidou or Genda will want to even stay in the frame_! Sakuma thought glumly, resentment flaring through him- continuously cursing his luck.

Sakuma blinked to make sure he had seen right. It wasn't possible. She couldn't be but the glint in her eyes told him the truth. She was the one and the same- the very girl who had made Sakuma's life hell on earth in high school.

He glanced at Kidou to see how he was reacting to see that his friend's mouth had dropped open and he was just staring at her with incredulity and shock. On the other hand, Fudou didn't seem very happy to see her either. He was scowling but his eyes still traveled over her form, taking in her curves and denims with an appraising smirk plastered over his face.

Sakuma felt sick. What the hell was she doing here? Why was she back? He saw that some of his class mates were sickened by her sight whilst others were fascinated. Maybe it was because she had strange eyes. Whatever the reason, the class was fixated upon her tall and willowy figure.

Sakuma tore his gaze away to look at the other girl who was standing before the students, her arms crossed across her chest- a gesture of forbidding entrance. Her hair was longer than the latter's and flowed down to the small of her back, framing her face with the silvery white locks. He peered at her closely, aware of the fact that a few people were looking at him and that what he was doing was considered rude in society but he had to see her eyes. He had to judge whether she was reliable or not.

It wasn't as if she looked the part of a bitch- she looked positively indifferent- but rather the fact that she had committed her first error in befriending the vile girl also known as Zonex. Maybe she could be saved. There was still the probability that she would listen to the others who had endured Zonex's torment in the painful past. She might just be horrified and resent the girl she had formed a rapport with already with no hesitation. Sakuma was sure she'd rebuke Zonex the minute she found out.

_What kind of a person would want to befriend her after finding out about her abhorrent ways_? Sakuma wondered, trying to convince himself that she would convert to their side but one look into the albino's cold eyes made his feeble attempts at reasoning with his suspicions and doubts go sinking down the drain. He felt as if he had been shot. You see, Sakuma Jirou had become a fairly good judge of character. He could tell what a person was like by looking into their eyes.

And the other girl's eyes indicated nothing but cold emptiness- pure evil radiance which sent his mind reeling. If anyone else would have been in Sakuma's place, they would not have been able to make this observation merely by looking into the short girl's sea-green eyes but Sakuma wasn't most people. It was the little things, really, which gave it all away. Her mask had been perfect, too perfect.

At first, Sakuma had been unable to catch it himself but he had seen the slight glint in the corners of her eyes which had caused him to take a second, longer look which confirmed his rising fears. He had another Zonex on his hands.

_Wasn't one cold-hearted bitch enough? Did there really have to be two of them? _Sakuma's raised his single good eye heaven-ward and sent his silent mental plea up to the Lord. _Please let one of them switch Universities after the first few weeks! Maybe they both will miss each other so much, that after one leaves, the other will follow!_

He turned his attention back to them and was startled to see she nodding towards him whilst Zonex shook her head, smiling sweetly at him as if she expected him to have forgotten her. No way José! He was going to steer clear of these two for sure and he'd make sure the others did too. He did not want another fiasco like the last one on his hands and neither did he need it.

He blinked again to make sure he was not hallucinating but just when the teacher had been about to introduce them to the class, the door opened a second time to reveal a flushed dual-haired girl who was panting slightly- she had obviously run all the way here. She flushed further when she saw that all eyes were on her and quietly gave the teacher a slip of paper. He smiled slightly and nodded at her.

"Everyone, these are our new transfer students. This is Annie Matsukaze, Ann Iruko and this is Zonex Krypton. Please welcome them warm-heartedly."

Annie hurried to the closest empty seat nearby. It was next to Dylan who was now looking at her curiously. There were murmurs and whispers amongst the students in the class but Sakuma was still reeling from shock. The girl Annie looked so familiar. She couldn't be Annie Matsukaze, could she?

The coincidence was just too great to be true. It had to be her. He knew it in his heart as he stared at her. Was his heart thudding or was it just him? He gazed at her with scrutiny.

Her hair was shorter now and it was kept out of her face with a pink hair band. Her eyes were still the same deep viridian green they had been and her smile was still crooked as she talked to Dylan eagerly. A sudden flare of jealousy shot through him and he resented Kidou and Genda for taking the seats next to him so that she had to sit next to Dylan.

Oh dear lord! KIDOU!

He turned his head to look at his best friend whose face was pale and saw that his hands were clenched and shaking. He was looking everywhere but at Zonex, the very girl who had undermined his self-confidence till she had destroyed him completely until Sakuma had helped him to start from scratch with the help of all of his peers. Kidou did not need this kind of pressure now. He was not ready to face her yet. But on the other hand, Sakuma doubted that Kidou would ever be ready for her.

Kidou's way of dealing with the pain inflicted upon him had been to bury it all underneath the cold granite of his mind but he had never thought of her coming back. He had been caught unawares and his mental wall was now close to shattering. Touko gazed at him with concern as well. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the stressed teen, her eyebrows knit together to form a frown.

And now, he would have to face two of them! Two bloody girls who would certainly be out for his blood- like demented mosquitoes only much, much more pesky and blood thirsty. And he was sure they wouldn't be dumb enough to be killed easily. He had to find a way to eradicate them before they spread a disease much worse than any disease an insect might carry.

Sakuma cursed fate once again. He had been right, this day was crap. And something told him that it was about to get really ugly from now onwards. College didn't seem to sound like fun anymore. Life was no longer simple- the equation had intensified by a million times the moment these three had transferred to Raimon. A war was coming and he had a feeling that survival was the only option left.

The minutes ticked by with agonizing slowness and he could feel sympathy and worry for Kidou while his own blood boiled at the sight of Annie chatting away with Dylan, exchanging glances and smiling as if she'd known him for years. It wasn't fair. He had been the one craving to meet her and now that she was finally here, she was avoiding him for Dylan Kieth.

Maybe she was racist now and didn't want to be seen associated with him. Maybe she hated him for not coming back, for not returning to fulfill his promise- heaven forbid; maybe she liked Dylan better than him. He fervently hoped it was not the latter. He'd rather have her…

_You'd rather have her forget you_? _You don't need to worry about that sport, she's got that part covered fine,_ his mind callously interrupted. Sakuma reeled with shock, gasping softly- shaking his head at Genda's raised eyebrows. He couldn't believe it -how could she have forgotten him so easily?

But now that he thought about it, he understood what had made his mind come up with that explanation. She really did seem to have forgotten him, so engrossed in her conversation with Dylan that Sakuma was seething with envy and betrayal. How _dare _she have forgotten him when he had held her memory so close, so dear- treating it like a fragile wilting flower: doing his best to keep it alive till the gardener came to help him out whilst she just erased him from her mind, pretending he didn't exist?

Did she remember his name? _Did she even remember saving his life?_ He mentally screamed the last thought out, amazed that no one could hear his yells or growls nor his thudding heart beat. His pulse rate increased by a dozen fold and small beads of cold perspiration began to appear on his forehead and he was sure he would have a stroke if he didn't stop tormenting himself soon. Sakuma was shocked beyond anything, his mind in mental arrest- neither able to provide a suitable explanation for her actions nor protect him from the vicious jibes the back of his conscience sent in his direction.

He raised hollow eyes to the clock to see that it was five minutes till the class ended and they were free to go. The professor droned on and on about something related to psychology or sociology. Sakuma was too busy in thought to listen properly to decipher which of the two it was. He waited whilst the bell rang upon which he jumped up and collected his things and ignoring the odd looks from the others and leaving Kidou to fare on his own with Genda, he rushed over to where Annie and Dylan were standing.

As he approached them, he heard Annie laugh at some joke Dylan had probably cracked. He was awfully good at wise cracks too; Sakuma winced, having been on the receiving end of quite a few. His heart hammered against his ribs as he reached them, at a loss for words now that he was standing in front of her- face to face after so long.

"Hey, I'm Sakuma Jirou." He smiled, wondering how he had managed to stretch his lips into a smile but he had started now and there was no stopping him now. He extended a hand towards her at the same moment as he heard a melodious voice above the din of the students' exuberant chattering.

"ANNIE! Come here _now_!" It was Zonex, with her eyes flashing with triumphant joy. What had she done this time? Who was her trophy now? But even as his thoughts raced in his mind, he realized with a sinking feeling that the trophy was Annie and there was no way she was going to let go without a fight which basically meant that a lot of people were going to get hurt.

As he watched Annie smile at him apologetically while she flounced away to her captor and her equally ruthless assistant, Sakuma felt pity for her. She had been freed from her father's strict laws only to be stuck with a slave driver like Zonex Krypton. He _HAD_ to save that girl, no matter what- like she had saved him ever so long ago when the odds had been stacked against her favor.

It seemed like centuries had passed since he had last seen her smiling at him and the sight made his heart contract painfully. He vowed to save her regardless of the consequences. Watching the innocent woman laughing playfully with Ann and Zonex only served to steel his determination, ambition burning through his veins as he quietly made his way to his circle of friends.


	4. Fouled Once Again

Kidou felt fury surging through his body, lighting up the flames which he had extinguished ever so long ago. He stared at the smirking girl and his entire being pulsated with rage, powering his movements as he surged forward and stole the ball from the opposing team's striker.

He quickly assumed a shooting stance and as his foot made contact with the ball, he was afraid it might burst for a minute before it caught on the utter brute force of his blazing wrath. Barely seconds had passed before the whistle sounded.

The goal keeper hadn't even bothered to block it, too busy in jumping out of the way to save his own skin. He had seen the mad scowl on Kidou's face and had known better than to stay in the way of a hurricane shoot. Kidou simply shrugged his team mates off when they crowded around him, triumphant that they had scored the first goal in the game.

He was too busy gazing at the bleachers where their fans were currently going crazy, shrieking and jumping with joy. Kidou ignored all of them and his eyes met her turquoise ones for a brief moment- the corners of her mouth curled to form a taunting smirk before he spun around, resentful that he had let himself get baited.

Bitch.

He turned his attention back on the game, focusing solely on winning so that he would have a reason to celebrate later. The whistle sounded and Kidou was off like a shot, ordering his team mates into their positions for a combined tactic.

"Sakuma! To the left! Fudou, to my right! Let's go!" He yelled and at his call, the distracted teen's head snapped his way and he nodded whilst the tattooed boy merely smirked at him, anticipating his chance for glory.

Kidou stole the ball soon enough and saw the other team's players form a hurdle for him to cross. He smiled to himself; it was going to take more than that to fake him out. He quickly swerved to the right and the next moment, found himself on the ground, writhing in agony whilst clutching his ankle.

He managed to look up into the face of none other than Fudou Akio- grinning like a mad hyena whose birthday had come a month earlier.

"What the hell, Akio? What did you do that for?" He growled, still clutching his ankle as bullets of pain shot through his foot.

The addressed boy merely smiled callously, his eyes narrowing.

"I just thought it was time you stopped hogging the field. The 'fans' deserve a good show, don't you think?" He had laid special emphasis on the word fans and immediately, Kidou glanced up into the bleachers to see that there was a slight look of curiosity in her eyes as she observed him coldly- as if wondering whether the injury was permanent or not.

Sakuma was at his side in a second, glaring at Fudou while he helped Kidou limp to the bench. Genda was scowling at Fudou, his eyes narrowed to slits and the game resumed after Sakuma returned to the field albeit Fudou was benched as well by a furious coach Kudou. Kidou watched as he strutted towards to the bench, his head held high. He was not upset about what had happened- of that Kidou was quite sure. He grimaced as a manager pressed an ice pack to his foot.

He glowered in silence at particularly no one present, his focus drifting away from the game- slipping away into the dangerous terrain of his memories.

* * *

_Kidou's adoptive father had been making a deal with a few other business men. It was at one of his formal parties that he had met the girl. He remembered how badly he had fumed about not wanting to go- about having to miss a party with his friends for a stupid formal dinner thing._

_Grudgingly, he had gotten ready- choosing an ebony black suit with a red tie. He hated it already. He was sure he would choke on his tie soon enough if he didn't remove it instantly. It was like a noose hanging around his neck. He scowled the whole time during the ride and was oddly uncomfortable around all the business tycoons and merchants- wondering whether they were sizing him up as they smiled at him with their large pearly whites. They resembled huge looming wolves to him, watching him with cold, empty eyes._

_He had shifted around for so long until everyone began to dance. It had been a perfect evening so far, no one had managed to notice him until now and suddenly, he found his cover blown. He stared at the girl for a while, taking in her large turquoise eyes and the silky strands of hair which had escaped from their imprisonment._

"_I'm Kidou Yuuto. Pleased to meet you." He had stuck out his hand to shake by instinct before remembering that rich girls didn't shake hands with total strangers. He had been about to pull his hand back when he felt her hand grasp his, shaking it warmly- an even warmer smile lighting up her angelic face. He felt her hand crushing his and pulled it back, massaging it. _

"_Zonex Krypton." _

_He had been surprised, shocked even. She wasn't like the other rich girls in town. She had actually shaken his hand- nearly breaking it while she was at it; she laughed at his jokes and cracked a few of her own- okay, more than just a few. The whole time they had hung out, she had been laughing and kidding around. She had a weird laugh- like a cat choking on a hairball, not at all like the dainty giggles girls usually had or was she faking it? It wasn't possible to have a laugh like that, Kidou thought with intrigue. _

_Kidou hadn't realized how magnetizing she was until she winked at him in farewell before turning and walking towards her father who had motioned for her from across the room- a tall blue eyed man stood behind him, watching her approach silently. Kidou hadn't understood anything at all at the moment. He just watched her as she was led out onto the dance floor by the red-headed giant who took her in his arms and as they moved to the music, Zonex smiled at him and mouthed three words to Kidou over the man's' shoulder._

"_See you later." It hadn't been the "I love you" which was common in movies but it was enough to make Kidou smile at nothing in particular and he had been pleasant the rest of the evening but as he was leaving, he suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to take her number- a mistake which would probably cost him any future contact with her. _

_Well, it wasn't as if he would die without her but he had wanted to introduce her to his friends. Genda especially would have been pleased to meet her. He was the clownish type and would have loved her jokes._

_Oh well, he sighed, I'll add her on facebook and she'll give me her number then. And satisfied with his decision, he had smiled at his father as they travelled back home and made polite conversation which shocked his father beyond words. Kidou merely smiled at him when he tried to probe into the sudden change and changed the topic to the stock exchange which he knew would keep his father talking till he was red in the face._

_At home, Kidou immediately sat online, logged into facebook and typed her name into the search box. He was drowned by at least thirty seven Zonex's. How was that possible? _

_First of all, Zonex was by no way a normal name and secondly, it was too great a coincidence already but all of them were named Zonex Krypton? Seriously?_

_Kidou frowned and let his breath out slowly in an attempt to calm himself down. What was she, a celebrity or something? Why would people use her name? He shook his head, irked by the hindrance his carelessness had caused._

_Damn it and damn her. It wasn't like he had to see her or anything, it was just that he was sure Genda would have had a field day with her- she was just so weird. _

_He closed his eyes, hoping that tomorrow would be better. It was the first day of high school anyway, he had better get ready. Shrugging his shoulders to remove the invisible burden from them, he made his way towards his desk to pack his bag for the next day._

"_Kidou! Hey! Wassup man?" Kidou turned around to catch sight of his friend waving to him from a desk in the middle. Kidou cracked a smile. It was as if his position of mid-fielder on the soccer team was not going to be forgotten anytime soon. He slid into the seat and greeted the other students as they piled into class room 1-A of Raimon High School. _

_Kidou had decided to switch so that he could be closer to his friends in the soccer world and Sakuma had followed suit along with Genda. The class filled in with students, laughing talking and chattering away- excited and anxious about their first day._

_Kidou noticed that there were more than a few transfer students like him. He smiled; it was going to be fun to get to know new people. Maybe some would even be interested in chess, he mused silently. The noise in the room settled down and quieted down when the teacher stepped in. It was a shame about the uniforms but Kidou was fine about it. He didn't really care about making fashion statements. That was just too gay for him. _

_He smiled and mouthed 'hi' back to the people he knew. He was surprised to see that he knew most of the class. He had expected to be the new transfer kid who would have to make a name for himself but he had already found out from the morning's events that he was popular here at Raimon. _

_He wondered whether it would have been the same if he had stayed at Teikokou. He had transferred into Raimon during middle school last year but he hadn't expected the change to be permanent. Yet here he was, in Raimon's uniform with its dark pants and equally dark button down shirt. He smiled to himself as he remembered all the fangirls he had encountered in the morning. _

_He was going to really like it here. _

_His attention snapped to the teacher as she introduced the new transfer students who had never been in Raimon before and had never been connected with any of the students till now. His eyes zeroed in on the girl standing at the end of the line, her gaze meeting his and a wide, toothy smile spreading on her face as she recognized him._

_The teacher, Mrs. Larson, hadn't yet reached her when she suddenly stepped out of the line of ten new students and walked towards Kidou and flopped down into the seat next to him._

"_Dibs!" Her mouth was curved in a merry smile and even Mrs. Larson tried to keep a straight face as she shook her head and asked her to come back to the front for her introduction since she didn't know anyone yet._

_Zonex had cocked her head lazily at that and smiled at the older woman sweetly, flipping her hair away from her face._

"_But that's where you are wrong. I DO know someone in this class. Kidou here, is my close and personal friend." She smiled innocently at Kidou while the class hooted with laughter and cat calls. Kidou smiled as Mrs. Larson glanced at him before turning her attention back to the purple haired girl._

"_Miss Krypton, do you really know him or do you have stage fright?" Her smile was still there but her voice was edged with impatience now._

"_Guilty on both counts. I met him yesterday and I hate stages." She smiled cheekily and ducked her head whilst Mrs. Larson chuckled and turned to the other new students who looked nervous now. _

_Whilst the introductions were going on, Kidou felt something coming his way out of the corner of his eye and saw it land on his desk- a piece of paper folded over to conceal its message._

"_Score!" He heard Zonex whisper-yell beside him, triumphant smile lighting up her face while she pretended to listen to the new girl whose name was Megumi or something._

_Kidou just smiled and reached for the note, ignoring the looks he received from his friends- intent only on reading what the note contained. He slowly unfolded it, careful not to tear it_

'_Yo dude! Where the hell were you? I was looking for you all over the place.'_

_Kidou picked his own pencil and scribbled in his own reply and was about to pass the note back when suddenly, he found himself staring into Mrs. Larson's pale face. She raised an eyebrow at him quizzically, taking the note and inhaling deeply before speaking. _

"_Kidou, who passed this to you?" She definitely looked irked. This was not a good thing to happen, especially on his first day. Kidou gulped and glanced at Zonex from out of the corner of his eye and saw that she immediately raised her hand._

"_I did, Mrs. Larson." Her voice was clear and loud, as if she did not want Kidou to get into hot water just because he was tongue tied nor worried about getting into trouble herself. The forty-year old woman turned upon the sixteen year old beside Kidou and waved the tiny piece of paper in her face. _

"_Why did you pass this to Kidou, Miss Krypton?" _

_Zonex's face had been facing the ground until now but she suddenly looked up and revealed her face to be smiling as she answered the teacher's question without missing a beat._

"_Because he's the only one I know here." Kidou's eyes widened as he heard her utter those words. He quickly surveyed the effect they had upon their teacher but realized that she seemed to be smiling as well. His panic receded somewhat as the class giggled again- even the new comers seemed to be laughing now. _

"_Thank Lord you don't know everyone Miss Krypton or I would have had to send you to detention," Mrs. Larson scowled at the bashful girl, shaking her head at her and tossing the note into the trash can. Their teacher was apparently very easy going and wouldn't be strict with them. _

"_But please, no more talking in class and no more chits to people you may or may not know or I'll throw you out of the class. Is that clear?" It was clear from the tone of her voice that she meant business. The class answered their agreement in unison and Kidou glanced over at Zonex to check whether she was ashamed of getting told off on the first day or not but was surprised to see her wink at him and then return to her notes with determination._

_Zonex was the first one to offer to help Mrs. Larson distribute the books and she also jumped up and answered questions- actively participating as if she had fire ants crawling in her underwear. Kidou watched in amazement as she handed her essay in the earliest. What the hell was wrong with this girl? After class was over and they had their new timetables assigned to them, the students made their way out of the room to spend their free period before recess in the grounds. Kidou felt Sakuma beside him and smiled. _

"_Hey, what did you get assigned for-" But Sakuma never got to complete him sentence because he was interrupted by Zonex who was the last to scurry out of the room as if the hounds of hell were on her tail._

"_OOH! My time table is crap man! What's yours like? Let's compare to see if we have any classes together!" Her eyes gleamed with exuberance as she scanned his schedule before squealing with joy. Kidou saw Sakuma's eyebrows contract before they relaxed as he stared at the hopping girl in front of him. He felt a slight tug of annoyance in the back of his mind. She didn't own him- it wasn't like he had sworn to stick around with her. She could make her own friends right, instead of barging into his? _

"_What's wrong, Krypton?" Sakuma was smiling now and Kidou smiled too- shaking the callous thoughts away, both teens staring at the hopping girl with amusement. _

"_I can't believe it! We have math and biology together! That's great!" She was still jumping with joy for a few minutes before she shook her head and realized that Sakuma had addressed her. _

"_Oh, call me Zonex please! Krypton sounds too much like crypt in…I don't want to be called that. It sounds cynical, don't you think? And what's your name?" She released everything in a single breath and gazed at Sakuma eagerly, awaiting his response. Kidou blinked, this girl was definitely too hyperactive. He could see what Sakuma was thinking; she needs medical help for sure. Kidou nodded in agreement although he knew no one would understand why he was nodding._

_His best friend's eyes widened and he smiled at Kidou uncertainly, as if unsure of what to say to the girl associated with him. _

"_Uh- sure. Zonex then. I'm Sakuma Jirou." Sakuma was relieved when Zonex smiled at him sweetly before she turned to Kidou and pointed at the cafeteria. _

"_I found some seats. Sakuma and you can come if you want." Kidou knew the right answer was yes but he wanted to see his friends again. Regretfully shaking his head, Kidou explained his dilemma and was immediately sorry when he saw her face shrink. Sakuma watched them as she averted her eyes for a moment before turning her head to look at him again. _

"_It's okay, see ya later Kidou. You too Sakuma! It was nice meeting you. Have fun with the guys," She was smiling again. Kidou was relieved she hadn't made a scene. He didn't know why, but some tiny part of him had the feeling that she was too used o getting her own way to be amiable about this. "At least now I can be sure of getting plenty of space for my massive ass! And I won't have to share my lunch either!" She joked before she started off towards the cafeteria at a flying pace, stopping only once to wave good bye at them before disappearing behind the doors._

_Sakuma smiled at Kidou and shook his head. Kidou only managed a sheepish smile as they set off for the soccer field. They reached it quickly enough, right in the middle of a conversation._

"_-she wasn't upset man! She SAID she was okay!" Kidou argued, waving back at his friends distractedly. Sakuma sighed with frustration before turning to his friend with a slight smirk._

"_You have a lot to learn about girls, Kidou Yuuto! Don't you know she was just saying that? You should have asked her to come here with us. I'm sure she could have hung out with the girls!" Kidou felt like punching Sakuma. _

"_Why didn't you say that before? Why mention it now? Anyway, what's done is done. I can't change the past!" Kidou huffed in exasperation, ruffled by his friend's point of view. Maybe Zonex had been hurt. Maybe she had wanted to come with him to meet his friends. He felt slightly doubtful before he turned to his friends all of whom were grinning at him and smirking. Every thought of worry was wiped away, he was to busy wondering why they all looked so completely bemused._

"_What's wrong Kidou?" Endou Mamorou asked, grinning like a Cheshire cat._

_Everyone seemed to be asking him something about Zonex- even the girls pitched in. It was as if it was pick-on-Kidou day. _

_Finally, Sakuma broke through them and started his own tale._

"_We were talking to her just a while ago. Man, you should have seen how desperate she was! I swear, she would have begged if I hadn't been there. Although she hardly even noticed me, it was like I wasn't even there- not to her anyway. She was fixated on Kidou. She asked us to sit with her in the cafeteria but do you know what our GENIUS here did?" Sakuma was grinning now, reproachfully poking Kidou as he spoke. _

_Every one gathered around them and Rika squealed with suspense. _

"_OOH! What did he do?" She seemed beside herself, eager to know what Kidou had done. She was more interested in gossip than any of them but now, every girl was listening in on Sakuma as he narrated the events of the previous few minutes._

"_What do you think he did, Einstein? It's obvious he said NO! That's why he's here, isn't he?" Haruna chided her before turning to Kidou with a scowl on her face. _

"_She said it was okay!" He retorted, scowling at his sister as everyone all crowded around the two siblings._

"_Didn't you? You turned her down didn't you? She just met you, nee-san! Why did you do that?" Haruna seemed to be puffing up with anger, staring at Kidou with irritation clearly written across her face. _

"_So what? It was his choice!" Kidou heard Touko protest from the back but she was instantly hushed by the group. Geez, who would have known that the soccer club would be so girly? _

_As he stared at all the eager faces around him, he knew he would be forced to go down to the cafeteria and sit with Zonex even if he didn't want to. He sighed before walking towards her general direction._

"_Fine, I'll go but you can see for yourself that there is nothing going on between us." Even as he said it, Kidou felt a knot inside him unravel and he smiled- believing it. Touko smiled at him and was the first to agree while the others reluctantly nodded._

_Kidou led them whilst the others chattered away about their first day and gossip behind him. They reached the doors to the cafeteria and Kidou pushed them open with help from Touko. They entered the cafeteria and that was when Kidou's eyes nearly bulged out. He stood still, not moving at all until Touko tugged at his arm and Sakuma punched his shoulder. _

_He shook his head to make sure that it was Fudou Akio sitting with Zonex at her table along with some girl he hadn't cared to notice, smiling and laughing as they shared a plate of fries. He could feel the stares of his friends on his back but seriously, they could go and fuck chickens for all he cared. Fudou had been the last person he had been thinking of at the moment. He needed time to process this information. _

_He just couldn't understand how the cold, mean and reclusive teen had broken free of his shell within seconds to talk to Zonex. And who was the girl with them? He had certainly not seen her anywhere in class so she had to be one of the new students he hadn't been paying attention to._

_ Her ash blond hair was scattered around her shoulders and she carelessly flicked a few locks off her face as she giggled with Zonex, apparently irked that they kept falling into her large gold-brown eyes. They were talking away as if there was no tomorrow. _

_He moved towards them and suddenly, Zonex caught his eye and raised an arm to wave at him- before it dropped weakly and a look of surprise flitted across her face. _

_What the hell was going on? _

_Kidou glanced at what she was looking at and then remembered that the entire soccer club was behind him. He smiled half-heartedly and Zonex had made her way towards them slowly- not at all bounding towards him like she had earlier today followed by her new friend. _

_Meanwhile, Fudou simply strolled towards them leisurely and came to a stop at Zonex's side._

* * *

Kidou resurfaced from the pool of his recollections and glanced at Fudou Akio. His expression was one that matched the one he had worn nearly four years ago when they had met in high school for the first time. It was not a big secret that Kidou and Fudou had no special love for each other.

But that year, they had really fought it out and after that, they had been mortal enemies before they realized that it was the girl who had screwed them up- not each other. That was when they had made the pact to tolerate each other no matter what which was why Kidou was surprised that Fudou had gone back on their agreement today.

"Why did you do that Fudou?" He demanded once again but like before, he received no answer.

He sighed softly, his eyes downcast when he heard Fudou mutter something to him- something he had to strain his ears just to hear the barely audible words.

"This time, don't get in my way."

And Fudou got up and left the bench, making his way to the bleachers. Kidou watched him go; wondering what had gotten into the guy this time. Kidou sighed, irritated by everything in life. Why couldn't she have stayed in whatever goddamned miserable corner of this earth she had gone to? Why did she have to come back to haunt him and his friends?

One thing he knew for sure, no one was going to buy her good girl act this time.


	5. Bitches Reunited

"Kidou, we'll run him out of town. There is no way we're going to let him get away with it this time!" Genda scowled, glaring at Fudou Akio from a distance. He and his friends were sitting in a popular hangout place for the soccer team. Right now, the brunette was busy shooting death glares at the tattooed brunette sitting a couple of tables away.

Kidou shook his head slowly, downing the last of his root beer in silence. There was simply no point in extracting revenge. It was better to just let it go- Fudou Akio was not one Kidou looked forward to annoying. He had friends in all sorts of low places who might make life unbearable for them. And besides, what was done was done. What was the point in dredging the past up again? Kidou shook his head more firmly now and smiled at his friends, all of whom were surrounding him- anxious expressions pasted upon their faces.

"Come on guys! I've faced worse, remember?" He groaned as yet another bowl of ice-cream was passed over to him. He pushed it away with exasperation and stared at his friends, irked that they were treating him like a child. For shit's sake, it wasn't as if he was dying! Why were they fussing over him? Why were they suddenly so cautious around him? It was as if they were treading upon mine-fields, their faces blank and hollow smiles all around as they inched their ways around him.

Kidou eyed them with suspicion. Sakuma was busy thinking about something or the other. Genda was ranting about how they would totally destroy Fudou for fowling him like that. Even people he didn't usually hang out with were crowding around him, exchanging secret looks between themselves when they thought he wasn't looking.

What the hell was going on?

Fubuki Shirou passed him by and struck up a conversation about the weather for tomorrow and how it might affect their next match. Kidou was shocked. He was the only one who wasn't avoiding the topic of the next match. He suddenly forgot all about his sprained ankle and happily rattled away about their opposing team for the next day.

"It'll be hard to pull of strategies without you on the field dude, but you can still form plays from the bench you know!" He grinned widely, sincere admiration glinting in those deep gray-blue eyes of his.

Kidou felt relieved. Another moment of the whispers and silent looks and he would have lost it. He smiled back at the silver haired teen before him. The soft-spoken boy had not changed much at all during the years Kidou had known him. The same silvery-gray hair styled spikes and the same teal-gray blue eyes. In all this time, Fubuki had managed to avoid getting a proper tan- his skin still its pale and snowy white. Even after spending so many years under the Tokyo sun, he still hadn't gotten a tan.

Kidou wondered if the boy opposite to him was an albino.

He even retained his original fashion sense- dressed in shades of blue and silver. Kidou smiled to himself. This guy never changed at all. His personality was much the same as well; cheerful and exuberant- always peppy and straight forward about things in life. Right now, he was busy chattering away about basketball and how he wished he was tall enough to join the team. It was seriously impossible to remain glum with this guy around. No wonder the females were always all over him all the time and fought for even a moment of his attention.

Seriously, this guy and Dylan Kieth could teach the best a lesson or two about how to get girls. They made it look so effortless, Kidou often wondered whether it was natural or not but he never could find anything proving his suspicions to accuse them of anything. His mere presence was so soothing- acting like a balm upon the wounds of the soul. Kidou groaned the next minute. Great, first he got a sprained ankle and now he was acting gay on himself. Endou Mamorou and Hiroto Kiyama must have finally rubbed off on him.

_I should have avoided them. Why did I hang around them so much? Now I've got whatever they have! Kidou chuckled, shaking his head ruefully. He saw Fubuki staring t him curiously and wondered what he would think of Kidou's thoughts._

_Why don't I just tell him I'm gay? He mused, laughing despite his sullen mood. What he hadn't counted on was having mused out loud and Fubuki hearing him mutter that to himself. The shorter teen stared at him in shock and raised an eyebrow questioningly._

"Something you want to tell me, buddy?" He asked delicately, peering at Kidou curiously. Kidou couldn't believe he had just said that. Utterly mortified, he sat there for a few moments in silence till the friendly teen opposite him smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry; I don't think anyone else heard you. Although I still don't get you. Does Touko know you're you-know-what?" He asked conspiratorially, looking so secretive and compromising that Kidou couldn't help but laugh out loud. He laughed uproariously for a few minutes before wiping his streaming eyes, still chuckling a bit at the sight of the affronted teen on the other side of the table.

Genda and Sakuma turned and stared at him, their conversation apparently forgotten while the others around him in the café just stared at him in bewilderment.

"I'm sorry Fubuki. It's just that the idea of me being gay was so absurd that I couldn't help it." Kidou apologized to the blinking defender who instantly relaxed and smiled at him balefully. Kidou and he both started laughing again when Sakuma interrupted them.

"Wait- you thought Kidou was gay?" He was blinking rather rapidly now, his face a mixture of confusion and apprehension. Fubuki waved his hand at him dismissively to indicate that it didn't matter but Kidou answered the puzzled tanned teen anyway.

"No Sakuma, it was nothing. We just had a minor misunderstanding." Minor was an understatement. It was like calling an elephant an ant's cousin.

Sakuma smiled at that and chuckled, shaking his head in disapproval. Everyone stopped staring at them and resumed their normal conversation, having ensured that there was to be no further action or drama. Kidou was honestly disgusted by some of the reactions but he did not dwell upon them. Society would be society hence it would continue to judge people like a bitch.

He had no misconceptions about the fact that he could not change it- he had to live with it, unable to lift a finger against it and watch while millions of insecure people preyed on the weaker people to make themselves feel better about their own lives.

Kidou sighed; _I wonder what Sakuma is thinking of right now. _

A quick glance showed that the white haired teen's face was contracted and his voice rather terse as he talked to Genda about Heaven-knew-what. Kidou strained his ears to catch what he was saying but only managed to conceive a few legible words above the noise of the cafe.

Sakuma was gesturing wildly as well whilst Genda shook his head grimly, both seeming so gaunt and morbid that Kidou was worried about them.

_Annie…. Zonex…. Help…. Friend….. Rescue. _

Kidou blinked in surprise, a sudden thought flashing across his mind, _what the hell is going on? _

Kidou was about to eavesdrop on their conversation again when he felt that everything was suddenly too quiet. He realized that Sakuma's voice had faded out and he immediately snapped his head in their direction, hoping against hope that his cover had not been blown. But his luck seemed to be feeling down in the dumps lately, anguished and in despair. It was almost as if he had _no luck whatsoever- considering the series of events which had been occurring._

Kidou found Sakuma staring at him with narrowed eyes and Genda regarding him with suspicion.

_Holy crap! This can't be good!_

Kidou smiled at them nervously, eying his best friends apprehensively. Sure they were friends but kidding around with them and spying on them were two completely different things. He swallowed quickly and interrupted Sakuma before he could begin his tirade against Kidou.

"_What the hell-"_

"Sakuma, please, just listen. What were you guys talking about? I deserve to know it and you know I'm telling the truth. Genda," Kidou appealed to the brunette at Sakuma's side, "Tell Sakuma that I'm right. I have a right to know what my best friends do and especially if it's something worth hiding!" Kidou's voice cracked at the end. No way was he going to let his closest friends willingly put themselves in harm's way.

Not if he could help it. He fixed Genda with a deadly stare, furious emotions poisoning him as Kidou maintained the death gaze.

Kidou knew the battle was won when Fubuki got up and bade them farewell. He had a date to go and pick up- figures. Not a single moment seemed to pass when Fubuki wasn't with a new girl on his arm. Not that Kidou minded it or anything, it was just that it had gotten a bit hard to remember their names after the few dozen ones he had gone out with and unceremoniously dumped.

He was certainly living life to its fullest- in his own way.

Kidou smiled and waved back at him and wished him luck on the date. Seriously, it was a miracle that the girls didn't seem to get mad at him for going out with them and then getting rid of them the moment a prettier girl came along. It probably had something to do with his tragic past. Fubuki certainly knew how to play his part right- when to add a few sad mentions of his late family, where and when to insert a deep sorrowful sigh and maybe even squeeze out a tear or two.

That guy was _good…. __Really good. Not just good, he was__ great._

Shaking his head and chuckling to himself, Kidou turned towards his friends only to find Sakuma looking away and Genda twiddling his thumbs idly.

"I thought you were going to tell me something." He prodded them but just as Sakuma opened his mouth to respond, a loud ringtone made them all jump, wincing as the music blasted into their ears.

"What the hell is that?" Sakuma hissed at Genda as the abashed brunette flipped out his cell phone and stared at the screen before shoving it back into his pocket once again.

"You were saying?" He coughed, slight stains of pink spreading across his cheeks as he struggled to appear non-chalant albeit failing miserably at that.

Kidou and Sakuma slowly turned towards him, their eyebrows rising simultaneously.

"Who was that Genda?" Sakuma asked with a cheerful grin, his earlier tension seemed to have vanished into thin air. Kidou couldn't help but grin himself although they were drifting away from the topic. He quickly realized that Genda might just steer them back towards it as fast as he could so he too, took a part in the interrogation led by Sakuma.

"Who is she?" The one eyed boy demanded with glee, his single eye sparkling with enthusiasm as he drilled Genda for details. Although it wasn't common knowledge, Sakuma kept score of Genda's girlfriends. He literally had a list and everything.

When Kidou had asked him why he was wasting his precious time doing something so insignificant and trivial, Sakuma had replied with a snort that he would record everything and give it to Genda's fiancée- if her ever had one in the future, that is.

Surprising himself more than he surprised Genda and Sakuma, Kidou jumped into the fray as well- hoping Genda cracked under the combined pressure and attempted to divert their attention by resuming the previous conversation.

_I'm such a genius. I shouldn't have applied for Raimon University; I should have gone to Harvard or something! I'm brilliant! This plan will never fail- It's almost as easy as reverse psychology! All I have to do is get Genda to panic and that's simple enough, right? Kidou was ecstatic, nearly puffing up with pride over his ingenious plan. He wondered for the millionth time what his friends would do without him- probably run around getting tuitions from weird teachers and detention along with lots and lots of bad grades, Kidou thought smugly._

Too bad for him, _pride comes before a __fall._

He hadn't counted on one thing when he had formed the devious scheme in his mind; the fact that Genda might actually start talking about whoever that caller was. Kidou stared at the slate grayish-blue eyed teen, perplexed that his strategy had fallen apart in front of him.

"Well, she was the girl I was currently going out with. She's seriously hot man, like really hot. And I know you don't want to think of her but she's just as sexy as you-know-who," Genda stared at him apologetically while Kidou looked apoplectic.

"So anyway, although I am dating her but she won't let me go anywhere without calling me at least six times! It's like she thinks she owns me or something! I mean, I think it's great that she cares so much but what the hell, man? I need my space!" Genda's face was a picture of defiance, his normally warm eyes hardening to resemble marble chips inside his eye-sockets and scowling terribly.

'Umm…Just who is that girl?" Sakuma asked, coughing slowly as if trying to ingest the idea of Genda having girl problems.

"Wow! Does it even matter?" A voice snickered behind them, "Genda's having trouble with driving a girl away? I find that hard to believe." Kidou felt a shiver pass through him as Genda stiffened beside him and Sakuma's eye widened in shock before narrowing- the trio ready to drive Fudou away.

They turned around to see him grinning at them and flicking his hair out of his face although it immediately fell back in place again. Kidou wondered why he continued to cut his hair that way when it bothered him so.

"What do you want, monkey-boy? Come to borrow a banana? Sorry to disappoint you but we don't do ape." Genda replied snidely- if his eyes had been cold before, they were frigid now, shooting a death glare at the boy standing before them who had rudely interrupted them after eavesdropping on them.

Kidou and Sakuma laughed at Fudou as his eyes narrowed but kept careful watch of his fists which had clenched by his sides, twitching every now and then.

"Look here, you gay freak-" Fudou started angrily, Genda having succeeded in getting under his skin. It was always Genda who had the sharpest snipes to shoot back when in an argument. He was suddenly cut off by a silky smooth voice which chilled Kidou to the bone. That sly tone was more dangerous than an irked Fudou any day.

_Speak of the devil._

He slowly turned to face her, the first time they had come face to face ever since she had transferred to Raimon.

"Now now boys, no fighting inside the cafe. Back off, both of you and try to avoid making a scene next time." Her eyes were wide and innocent as she interrupted Fudou's angry tirade before it started- nipping the fury while it was still in its bud. Kidou ogled at her, bewildered as to why she was helping them when he caught her eyes and saw Ann behind her, a small smile on her small pointed face- hands crossed over her blue vest.

What the hell was going on? It was apparent Zonex was acting on the albino's orders, but the million dollar question was, _why? Kidou shook his head and turned toward Ann with a grim expression._

"Look, why are you-" Kidou began but was cut off by a loud call from the entrance.

"Koujirou! What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to come and see me." The girl moved towards them as she spoke, her eyes glittering with malice and outrage. Obviously, this was a girl who wasn't used to getting stood up.

The soccer team's head cheerleader walked into the room, her head held high- throwing her ash blond hair back with a dramatic shake of her head, her hand running through it to remove the tangles caused by it. Yukira Imai glared daggers at the addressed boy and her hands clenched into fists as she stared.

Genda looked oddly uncomfortable, his blue eyes- forget eyes, imagine two round icicles in place of his usual sparkling orbs.

Kidou blinked at the girl standing before them with surprise. He had so not expected this. Why was fate interfering with his plans? The café was deadly quiet now, even crickets could be heard in the back ground as every single customer stared at the chaotic group around Kidou's table.

Yukira's brown eyes were fringed with flecks of gold which made them look alien to him. They were eyes you had to stare into- gaze into while she talked. No wonder the yell had been so audible over the whole café; she wasn't head cheerleader for nothing. Her voice could probably be heard from over a couple of blocks away, Kidou was sure of it.

"You don't own me, Imai! I can hang out with my friends if I want to." Genda retorted, a slight scowl on his face as he held his own against her glare, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Well, I'll tell you what. Come with me now and we forget this. You game?" She smiled, her voice sweetening as she tried to persuade him to come with her- a manicured hand held out to him.

Kidou's head whipped around to look at Genda- along with every other person's in the café. No one interrupted the couple as they argued, but watching them all the same. Kidou was sure Sakuma was going to burst though, he looked so angry at the moment- his eye narrowed and gripping his cell phone so tightly, his hand was trembling.

_What was his problem?_

Kidou followed his gaze and saw what Sakuma had been glaring at- Annie Matsukaze was standing beside Yukira, her small sweet face twisted by a frown as she helped to convince Genda to listen to her friend. He couldn't understand what his friend's problem was, staring at one of the new girls like she'd murdered a close friend of his or something.

Seconds ticked by and the next thing Kidou heard was a loud squeal from the crowd.

"Imai, is that really you?" Zonex smiled at her, her eyes wide and joyous. At first, Kidou was startled, racking his mind to think of how Zonex could possibly know Yukira when he suddenly remembered: Yukira and Zonex had been joined at the hip in high school, seemingly glued together since they first met.

_Ex-best friends. How quaint._ Kidou sighed; sure that Genda was not going to have a very easy time. A sudden memory of them laughing at him made him feel queasy. This could not be good. It was obvious the gods were against him and his friends.

"Zonex? Zonex Krypton? Oh my God! I missed you, sis!" And with that, the two girls hugged each other and started chattering away, just like they used to. Zonex turned around and introduced Ann to Yukira whilst she did the same with Annie. Kidou couldn't help but notice the coincidence of the girls' first names.

_Annie and Ann. The two sidekicks are named An. Wow, they even share similar names. _Kidou was sure that they were all the same inside- hard core witches. This was most indefinitely not good. And as he watched the two reunited girls sashay out of the café with the two Ans following them amidst a lot of whispers and murmurs- Genda forgotten behind, he knew that the town would have a lot to talk about.

None of it positive of course: it never was positive.


	6. Friendly Discord

The four girls were sitting alone in Yukira's room, the curtains drawn and bound in place so as to keep the light from streaming outside to avoid alerting everyone outside that they were still awake. Annie suddenly giggled when she thought of what they were doing; having a secret sleep over did not exactly count as the emergency meeting that Yukira had insisted they conduct.

What would they give as an excuse, if heaven forbid, they were caught. It was against the rules to have midnight parties in the dorms at Raimon University. When Zonex had been warned about sneaking into Yukira's room carefully otherwise risk detention, she had simply tossed her hair back whilst exclaiming that it wasn't a party without any danger involved.

Annie had gaped at her then, aghast that she thought danger was fun but had calmed down when Yukira had laughed alongside the purple haired girl- apparently sharing some secret joke of some kind. But the next thing Zonex had said had made Yukira frown although she hadn't said anything to Zonex at that moment- merely seething to herself in the corner.

_After all, a sleep-over can't be conducted without an efficient leader_. Annie had received this reply when she had voiced her concerns about Zonex's room being too far down the hall for her to manage creeping out unnoticed.

She regarded the new girls with curiosity. It was apparent that Yukira had been best friends with Zonex at some point in her life but it was equally blatant that she hadn't missed the bossy turquoise eyed girl either.

Annie didn't like to doubt anyone but she had to admit that Yukira was right when she had hissed '_brat' _ into her ear as Zonex had assumed control the moment she had entered the room. She was just so aggravating, so simply egoistic that Annie had to keep herself from pricking the other girl's head to see whether hot air would rush out of the hole or not.

_What am I doing, thinking such terrible thoughts about her when I don't even know her? _Annie was horrified by her maliciousness. How could she have been so mean that she started judging the new girl without any real evidence to prove her heinous words?

She quickly shook her head and focused on Zonex's outfit instead.

Even though Yukira had specifically said that it was informal and there was no need to dress up, the tall willowy girl had shown up in a shimmering light blue top with sliver ruffles here and there and a pale lavender pajama bottom which looked as if she had pulled it straight out of a movie.

Normal people didn't wear things like those to sleep. They wore comfortable and worn out articles of clothing so that they could feel at home.

Even her hair had been tied up in a loose bun with a few strands escaping here and there, curling slightly as they hung loose around her face- framing it. Annie felt self-conscious about her own appearance compared to this diva although she knew it was ridiculous to expect her to really wear that each night to bed.

Annie nervously tugged her over-sized shirt slightly, playing with a lock of her hair as it hung around her face in a messy curtain. She hadn't bothered to take any pains with her appearance at all. It _was _an all girls' sleep-over after all.

Sighing, her gaze shifted to Yukira who had just made a bucket of popcorn for them to eat while they talked about god-knew-what.

"Are we here to stuff our faces or are we here to talk?" A quiet voice called out from beside Zonex. Annie's head whipped around to look at the owner of the soft, whispery voice and saw that it was Ann Iruko, the second new girl and coincidentally, Zonex's new friend.

Annie wanted to hit her head against the wall.

_Of course it was Ann! Who else could it have been? We're the only ones in this room and it was obvious that it hadn't been Yukira's or Zonex's voice. Gah! How much dumber can I get? _Annie smiled in spite of herself, ruefully observing the reclusive girl who sat with her arms crossed beside Zonex.

Ann had jade green eyes which were as informative as a rock. Annie could gleam no emotion or feeling from her eyes whatsoever. How she managed to be friends with the boisterous Zonex, Annie would never understand. Those two were just so different. She had arrived with Zonex about fifteen minutes ago and had been sitting on the corner of the bed quietly without making so much as a squeak.

This had been the first time all night that she had actually said something.

Annie was curious about her. Just who was this emotionless girl in the room? Where had she come from and when was she going to properly introduce herself? And suddenly, Annie's imagination began running away with her again.

_Maybe she's an android which was made in Venus and sent to Earth so she could learn about the secrets of mankind and the dispose of them- ruthless and cold. That really would fit in with her general description. Maybe she's a cyborg, lethal and meticulous! What if she turns out to be a witch? Oh my God! What if she- _

But Annie's thoughts were interrupted by Ann's voice as she fixed her emerald orbs on the dual-haired girl- searching her face for answers.

"Is there a problem Matsukaze?" Ann's cold voice cut into her, causing her to panic before she relaxed. She couldn't have possibly read her mind, Annie reasoned. She was just irked that you were staring at her. That was the reason for her scowl. Annie smiled at Ann sweetly and shook her head, eager to avoid Ann from getting suspicious. She did not want to get off on a bad foot with this girl. Secretly, Annie was terrified of both Ann and through her, Zonex.

She knew Yukira was her friend and all but she doubted that even she would be able to stand up for her when the other side consisted of her reunited best friend.

"I was just wondering where you got that top. It looks amazing!" Annie did in fact, admire the top Ann was wearing at the moment. It was a deep grass-green which really brought out the color of her eyes with a modest square neck- a red rose sown into the left hand shoulder with a slight puff at the neck. And she was wearing a pair of black bottoms with made the green of her shirt stand out even more along with the dual effect of making her skin look paler than ever.

She looked put together and collected. It was truly an amazing outfit, simple and pretty whilst Zonex's was bright and bold. Annie couldn't imagine walking with these girls in a hallway. She'd always be too busy comparing herself with them at all times.

"Oh, I picked it out for her! Isn't it just the most adorable thing ever? There were two of them, one was blue and then there was this one. I couldn't decide which to pick when Ann held up the blue one. The green made her eyes look so pretty, I _had_ to make her buy it!" Zonex squealed, her eyes shining with enthusiasm. Apparently, shopping was one of her hobbies.

Annie nodded fervently while Yukira agreed reluctantly.

"It does look kind of great with her slivery hair," Yukira admitted, a small smile on her face although on second glance, Annie could see the anger in her eyes. Why was she so mad about Ann's top? "Although it would look better on me, don't you think?" She added brightly, tugging her own shirt with a slight frown.

"Whatever." Zonex smiled, waving away the statement before reaching out and taking a fistful of popcorn and slowly popping them one by one into her mouth. Ann watched her with reproach as if disapproving her lack of manners and etiquette. Yukira watched them with sullen eyes, her own gold-brown eyes dull as she glared at them silently. It was clear that she didn't like being over ruled.

"How unladly like Zonex. You really should cut down on your fat intake though. Heaven knows you could lose it." Yukira smiled sweetly at the addressed girl. However, if he had expected frowns, tears or maybe even abuses, she did not get the satisfaction of seeing them. What she got instead was laughter.

"You need glasses or something, Yuki?" Zonex giggled, getting to her feet and twirling. Annie couldn't help but smile herself. The girl was slim and slender and if she had any extra pound, she was hiding them extremely well. Even Ann was smirking slightly at Yukira as the girl blushed.

"I was just-" She started but was cut off but Zonex who waved her hand dismissively at her.

"It's alright. Great joke Yuki! Hey, maybe tomorrow, we can go shopping and get a nice new wardrobe for each other. What do you all say?" She was smiling brightly, apparently having no idea whatsoever about Yukira's earlier vehemence. Or maybe she knew and did not want to dwell upon it. Whatever she knew or did not know, she did happen to know one thing; Yukira _loved_ shopping.

Yukira's face lit up. Shopping was the one universal thing which every girl liked to spend time upon. She nodded brightly whilst Annie nodded her assent as well.

"But Zo, you already _bought_ a new wardrobe _yesterday_ and you dragged me along to buy a lot of stuff too! We have _enough_ as it is!" Ann protested, pointing to her shirt as she spoke. Zonex simply stared at her and then frowned slightly.

"Maybe you're right. So how about we just accompany them, huh? It would be fun, Ann! WE can pretend to be judges in a fashion show and they'll get great advice! Please?" She twisted a strand of her hair as she earnestly pleaded with her friend. Ann sighed and that was when the two other girls cheered, the sigh having been the sign of defeat for Ann. The white flag having been raised, the girls chattered about the next day and the outfits they would buy along with the outlets they would hit first.

Annie just hoped that some of the tension would drain away. Yukira had stopped staring at her own self and then at her old friend- comparing them with each passing moment. Annie thought she looked incredible in her dark brown sleeveless top with her beige Capri's but apparently, Yukira didn't think so. Even her hair was perfect in her pony tail but she didn't seem to realize that, too busy seething about whatever it was she was furious about.

Annie had a feeling that it would be an extremely long night.

"That outfit sucks! You've got terrible taste!" Yukira's eyes blazed as Zonex picked up another top. The latter dropped the article of clothing as if she had been stung, her eyes wide as she glanced at Ann for reassurance. The silver haired albino merely shrugged at the bewildered girl, gritting her teeth with frustration.

What could she say?

Nothing she would say would help their current situation. Yukira was against Zonex in everything, opposing her with mind and soul- even if it was about something as trivial as a stupid color for the same shirt design. Ann silently sighed mentally; she just couldn't see any way out of this dilemma. Zonex was either too stupid to notice Yukira's loathing or she knew about it and was just aggravating her further.

Either way, the outcome was not going to be pleasant and somebody was going to get hurt soon.

Too bad that somebody could be that new girl Annie, Ann thought with barely concealed pity. She was just trying so hard to please Yukira that she made mistakes she shouldn't have made- like picking up the top Zonex had just dropped and holding it up against her. Ann shook her head and let her breath out slowly, letting it whistle through her teeth softly.

"Yuki, whats wrong with you? That top would have looked great on you and you _know_ it." Zonex argued. Oh great, whatever her reasons, Zonex was definitely _not_ helping the situation by questioning the burning girl's tastes and opinions. Didn't she know when to keep that big trap of hers shut?

Ann knew this was not going to be easy to solve. She slowly made her way towards Zonex but before she could, Yukira squealed and dove into the clothes rack to come out, holding a blue and white cheerleader jacket; her eyes shining brightly as she nearly salivated over it.

"I'm so buying this! It'll look great on me with the new uniforms!" Yukira tossed her hair back and was about to make her way to the sales-woman's desk when Zonex's voice rang out, loud and clear- holding so much revolt and shock that for a moment, even Ann was surprised, her eyes flying open as she registered Zonex's outburst.

"What do you think you're doing? Cheerleaders are fake, low and just ruining the public image of females everywhere." Zonex's huge bright eyes were narrowed at her old friend cum rival, darkening to a deep sapphire blue as she challenged her friend. Yukira stared back at her, aghast that Zonex hated cheerleaders; the very thing which had helped her climb to the top of the social ladder, elevating her as she shook her pompoms at the crowd. Ann had to hide a snort, concealing it by pretending to cough, her eyes on Zonex.

She had to admit, she hadn't thought Zonex would have much common sense. Ann constantly had to turn the half-assed girl in the right direction to keep from getting into trouble but this one had been completely genuine.

_So she isn't the phony air-head I thought she was. She does have some indiscretion after all. _Ann half smiled, glad that her friend had the grains of sense embedded within her- she only needed to help them sprout and bud into flowers. Ann admired Zonex's guts but she had the feeling that she could have expressed herself in a less offensive manner.

"What do you mean? Cheerleaders are fine! They _help _the team get into the game!" Yukira shot back, her amber eyes glittering with fury as she glared at the girl opposite to her. Ann winced thinking Zonex would back down now but she saw something which intrigued her. Zonex merely scowled at the blond before her.

"I can't believe you! I thought we agreed in high school that it was demeaning and worthless to hop around in little skirts! I turned down so many offers because of that stupid oath!" Ah, now Ann knew why Zonex was hyperventilating.

Ann hadn't been wrong about her being the air head after all. She was furious that she had missed out so much in life due to being righteous and keeping that promise the two of them had made when they were younger albeit just as foolish. Yukira smirked at her, her amber eyes narrowed to little slits.

"Its not my problem if you're a bloody angel. You should have thought about yourself for once in a while." She replied back while Ann blinked. Even Zonex looked puzzled at that. Yukira did not know Zonex at if she thought she was a self-sacrificing angel. Ann saw Zonex look guilty and open her mouth to tell her the truth. Good. She had some honesty in her so Ann wasn't wasting her time with her. She glanced at Annie and saw that the poor girl was just watching the two girls argue and bitch as if watching a tennis match- watching the ball swing from one court to the other.

"Alright! Break it up. Zo, shut up and Yukira, that goes for you too. I don't want to hear another word from any of you and when I said any, I meant it." Ann spoke softly; her voice quiet as the three girls stopped and listened to her shamefully. At least Zonex did, Yukira simply snorted and coughed something which sounded oddly like 'Ann's little girl' but before Ann could say a word, Zonex loomed over her and hissed something in her face which made the girl redden and her eyes burn.

The blond glared at her once before beckoning Annie to follow her and left- discarding the jacket and rushing out of the store to bump into Mark Kruger and Dylan Kieth. The two friendly Americans immediately started talking to the infuriated girl and Dylan was especially keen on Annie, smiling at her all the time as he talked.

Ann shrugged and turned to look at her own idiot when she saw that Zonex was looking at out the window at the four teens wistfully, her attention riveted on the blond as he cracked joke after joke, making the aforementioned girls laugh uproariously.

"Is anything wrong, Zo?" Ann asked her slowly, not sure what was going on. People may have called her reclusive and emotionless but she had never seen anyone more adept at concealing her feelings than the girl in front of her. Zonex shook her head and smiled at Annie.

"Thanks for sticking with me, An. Let's go. This place sucks anyway." And she waited while Ann hung some of the clothes back and both girls made their way out of the store. Ann noticed that Zonex was watching them out of the corner of her eye as she strode next to Ann to reach her car. Maybe she was plotting something, Ann mused. Oh well, whatever the cause of her friend's sudden loss of intelligent speech, Ann was sure she'd see it soon enough.

She just hoped that the other girls stayed out of their way from now on. She had a feeling that they weren't friends anymore. Not by a long shot.


	7. Unwelcome Visitors

Sakuma stared at the slightly distraught girls at his door. He did not care about what they said nor did he care about their dilemma which had forced them to come to his door in the middle of the night. He couldn't think straight at all, having been awoken by a sudden call from the dorm's office that he had visitors.

After a few groggy moments of consideration, he had given his consent for them to be sent up completely unprepared for the sight of two girls at his door.

One was dressed up for a night at the local hangout- wearing a pair of black denims and a cobalt blue blouse with short sleeves. She looked indifferent at first sight but he noticed that behind the silver locks which hung over her face, were a pair of bright forest green eyes which were filled with anguished keening. It was so in contrast to her cannibalistic scowl that he blinked to make sure his mind wasn't playing tricks on him.

"Call Kidou in too. He had better hear this as well." A determined voice broke through his reveries, forcing him to look away from Ann Iruko and at her companions instead. She was dressed in a slightly baggy white shirt with a pair of purple cargo pants- held up with a large leather belt. Never in his life had he thought he would hear those words from the purple haired girl's mouth but he had. He shook his head and was about to ask one of the numerous questions he had when he was rudely interrupted.

"For Christ's sake, let us in you idiot! No wonder you don't have many guests, considering how bad of a host you are." The girl huffed, pushing past him and sitting on his bed, eyes narrowed angrily- belying her desperation to be escape to anywhere but here.

"Calm down Zo, he's shocked and tied. It is pretty late after all." Ann shot a look at her obstinate friend before regarding her one-eyed colleague. Sakuma stared back at her with curiosity and a hint of irritation. Just who did these girls think they were, barging into his dorm room like this uninvited and then push him around? He allowed the shorter girl to walk in before turning around to face them, his arms folded.

"What the hell do you retards want?" He saw Ann's eyes flash but Zonex looked simply furious. Sakuma remembered dimly reading somewhere that it was the worst mistake one could make to accuse a retarded person of being insane. Now he knew what that author had meant by mentioning that sentence in bold black text. Zonex looked enraged but before she could open her mouth to retort, Ann had hushed her and was staring at Sakuma with cold jade eyes.

"Sakuma Jirou, please call Kidou and Genda Koujirou. They are involved in this dilemma." Her tone had remained cold but Sakuma had a slight hunch that she was merely a stoic person- covering her true emotions at the moment.

He simply nodded and walked out of the spacious room, closing the door behind him carefully. He was nervous about leaving them alone in his room but he dismissed the thought with a shake of his head, arriving at Kidou's door in a few mere minutes before a greater problem made its way to his head.

What should he tell Kidou to persuade him to come to his room, knowing that those two were in there? What suitable and just explanation did he have anyway, other than their sudden visit which was so much more than a social call? Okay, a much bigger problem suddenly arose out of nowhere, sending doom raining down on Sakuma.

_Is Kidou even awake at this time? He usually falls asleep at the old curfew time we had at Teikokou. He just never changed it._ Now what? Sakuma's mind drew a blank. Was he supposed to just stand there until the crack of dawn or something? Thankfully, he was given a reprieve of making a decision himself by the ever impatient girl in his room. She stuck her head out through the doorway and narrowed her eyes at him, hissing at him venomously.

"Will you just hurry up, captain crunch?" Sakuma blinked the rising tide of his annoyance away and spoke to her calmly as if speaking to a child although his eye glinted with pure undiluted fury.

"I would if I could but he seems to be asleep you see. Not everyone is an insomniac you know." He left the sting at her condition floating for a few minutes before opening his mouth to continue but he was quickly interrupted by Zonex who scowled at him and retorted snidely.

"Whats a damn phone for then? Call him you oaf. He'll get up when he hears the ring, you know he's a sensitive sleeper after all." She snorted, an inhuman bull-like noise and stomped back into Sakuma's room, leaving to wonder whether he should kick her out at that very moment or not. He decided to flip his phone out and call Kidou anyway.

_I'm not doing it because she told me to, I'm doing it because I'm his best friend and I know he's a light sleeper. This has nothing to do with her. _Sakuma scowled whilst speed dialing Kidou's cell phone. He heard it ring behind the wooden door and heard someone move about in the room as his friend made to receive the incoming call from Sakuma- who was behind the door to his room.

"Hello? Sakuma?" Kidou's voice was instantly alert and Sakuma could hear him rustling about inside. He sighed and answered in a dull monotone.

"Yeah, its me."

Kidou instantly jumped out of bed and slid into is clothes with haste, somehow managing to keep the cell phone attached to his ear with one hand while he was at it.

"What's wrong? Where are you?" His voice had a hint of panic as he shoved his feet into his sneakers, thoughts racing back to Sakuma's conversation with Genda in the café a week ago. Zonex…._Rescue..….Annie…_ At that time, those few words had made no sense to him but had still struck fear and suspicion in his hart. Whenever Zonex was involved, things got ugly no matter how trivial they might actually sound. Plus the fact that Sakuma had sounded like he was making a plan of some sort- sounding like a martyr, what with his anguished expression.

_My God, what had he done? What has he gotten himself into?_ Kidou's mind raced, coming up with all sorts of impossibilities- going so far as to imagine his friends stuck in the middle of a gang, at the edge of an endless ravine and being fed to sharks as some of the probable predicaments when his stomach churned.

Suddenly, the slightest gleam of logic which had remained preserved in the deep recess of his consciousness.

"Don't worry, I'm at-" Sakuma replied, his voice still dull and flat as he whispered into the phone.

_If he's in danger, he wouldn't sound so calm._ Kidou calmed down visibly after that and answered the phone, reaching for the door as he listened for the rest of his friend's reply. He opened the door and came face to face with Sakuma himself.

"-at the door. Yes, I can see that Sakuma. The next question is, why?" Kidou asked his bemused friend through clenched teeth, struggling to keep from yelling at him for waking him at; a quick glance at his watch told him that the time was twelve thirty. It was past midnight! What the heck was Sakuma doing here?

Sakuma merely sighed, not seeming to notice his friend's ruffled expression, seeming to be irked with something himself. Immediately, Kidou felt sorry although he was still aghast that Sakuma couldn't have waited till morning to tell him whatever it was he had to tell him.

"Just follow me. There's someone in my room who wants to talk to you. I guess I should hang up now." And Sakuma sheepishly cut the call, smiling at his friend uncertainly before quickly typing something on his blackberry. What was he doing? Was he insane, texting some at this late an hour? Kidou watched his friend send the text incredulously before he relented to his mind's urge to voice the question he had.

"Who did you send that message to?" He asked, pocketing his own iphone as he followed his friend to his room slowly. Sakuma turned around with agonizing slowness and blinked at his friend before holding up his phone to show Genda's name. Okay, that answered his question but now he had a new query annoying him at the back of his head.

"Why did you text Genda?" He couldn't help himself. It was just too intriguing and he always had been the curious type. He saw as Sakuma's face screwed up as if in agony and motioned for him to stay shut. Kidou reluctantly obliged, staying still behind the door for a few moments before Sakuma raised his hand to someone behind him, as if in greeting. Kidou spun around and saw Genda lumbering towards them, rubbing his eyes to get rid of the heaviness of the lids one felt after waking up.

"Guys, I just want to say that before anything goes wrong, I-" Sakuma was instantly cut off by an angry voice which growled at the white haired boy from behind his door.

"Will you quit with the melodrama and get your asses in here?" It was disturbingly female but it had the rough quality of a male. Kidou knew that voice. He turned and stared at Sakuma with affronted eyes, upset that his friend had betrayed them. Wait, what was Zonex even_ doing _in Sakuma's room at night?Sakuma shrugged his shoulders helplessly and ushered them into his room; the blaring lights revealing not one but two girls sitting there.

Kidou was astonished as he regarded the two girls with displeasure. Ann Iruko smiled although Zonex glared back at him defiantly. Kidou instantly turned to Sakuma, hissing at him with loathing; pointing at the two females sitting on his bed.

"What are _they _doing here?" He laid special emphasis o the word 'they' as if they were vermin of some sort, which they undoubtedly were in his outraged eyes. Sakuma opened his mouth to reply as Genda and Kidou rounded up on him aggressively when a clear voice rang out from the bed.

"Leave him be! He is not at fault here. In fact, if anyone is to blame, its Yukira and her accursed lackey." Ann scowled, her eyes flashing as she stared directly at Kidou. Unfazed, he glared back at her with unforgiving eyes, his hands clenched into fists- trying desperately to keep from swinging at everyone in the room. He felt like a caged animal, thrown into a tight space with a bigger and more dangerous specimen who was thirsty for his blood.

"And what might they have done to annoy you? Hurry up so that I can address a thank-you note to them." Genda shot back, sarcasm dripping heavily in his statement. Kidou gave him a brief small smile before nodding at Ann.

The aforementioned girl simply sighed with frustration, her green cat eyes narrowed as she motioned at Sakuma who gulped when Kidou and Genda turned towards him- searching for answers.

"They want our help with something. Yukira did something to them and they want our help to get revenge or something." Sakuma spoke hesitantly, licking his lips as though he had suddenly realized the actual severity of the situation and where he currently stood- at the brink of the edge; teetering, about to fall at any moment.

This was definitely not his lucky day.


	8. Treacherous Waters

"So what you're saying is that they stole Ann's boyfriend and they want revenge because Yukira isn't honoring the girl code?" Kidou asked one last time to make sure he had not heard it incorrectly. The three teens sat in a private room in the library which was usually reserved for conferences and debates.

Sakuma nodded mutely, his voice having been utterly spent explaining and re-explaining his actions and his motives to his suspicious friends yet he did not blame them.

Had he been in the same situation as Kidou or even Genda, he might have found his own patience rather thin. He admired their resolve to keep calm when facing the enemy. In a few minutes, those two were going to come back for another meeting- bearing more information with which they were going to try and formulate a plan. He sighed with resignation, remembering how ugly the fight had gotten between the two opposite sides; leaving Sakuma free to choose a side or eternally cast into no-man's land.

If it were up to him, he would have chosen the latter but he had kept himself from snapping at either side and had carried on, the rather sudden meeting proceeding rather cautiously yet proceeding all the same.

"They'll be here in ten minutes, they said," Genda muttered from the corner, his shaded eyes dark and sullen as he glared at his watch for the tenth time since the mysterious duo had called a meeting in the library; ordering Kidou to book a room in advance while they came back from some unattended matters they had. "Stupid girls! Why can't they ever stick to a schedule? I bet they're probably shopping at Tiffany's or Betty's or whichever godforsaken place it is they shop at! Blast them and every compulsive gene which keeps females from wearing watches!"

Sakuma stared at him and then shook his head slowly, accidentally catching the room's other occupant's eyes as he did so. Kidou grinned ruefully at him as they heard him rant about how much he loathed the heinous world of females and shopping. Genda was just so impatient and impetuous; Sakuma couldn't help but smile back at Kidou.

"Don't get your balls in a twist KJ, we're here. Glad to know we were missed." Zonex smirked at him as she toed the door open, not pushing it forward gently but kicking it with as if she was venting some withheld rage.

"About time! Don't you own a watch or are you just naturally daft when it comes to time management?" Genda shot back, clearly no more closer to getting accustomed to her rather irksome presence.

_I swear, the only thing keeping me from strangling her myself is Ann. She seems to hold a suitable amount of retrain on her. _Sakuma brooded, staring past Zonex and beyond her to stare at the albino scurrying behind her; quickly accelerating into the room before the door lost its momentum and swung shut with a loud 'thud'. She was the only one who seemed to be concerned on the girls' side whilst Sakuma noted with pride that his friends, although reluctant, were doing their bit to help them in any way they could.

"I'm not a prep like you, nerd-face." She smiled back, languidly lowering herself onto the comfortable couch by the musty filing cabinets which were stuffed with useless papers, wasting so much space. Her nose wrinkled in distaste as she regarded the room as it always did. Not a prep his foot, Sakuma thought savagely before inhaling deeply.

Their ways just didn't mix; they were like oil and water.

He winced as he remembered the last show-down between Zonex and Kidou. It hadn't been pretty- Sakuma winced as the memories of that night came rushing back to him.

"_So you see, they need help."He had finished off rather lamely, staring at the two boulders in the room which just happened to be his friends' unmoving bodies as they stared at him and the two opposite members of their sex; regarding Sakuma like one would flick a condescending glare at a traitor- hating his very guts and wishing for his sudden and immediate demise. And hoping it would be painful too of course. _

_Sakuma hadn't expected them to forgive him- heck! He couldn't believe this was happening either and he couldn't forgive himself for putting his friends through something like that. It was a sin of epic proportions, betraying his own kind and for the sake of someone as vile as Zonex Krypton- the most villainous of all people on the world. Well, she had held that record until Yukira had stolen it from her anyway._

"_I se, but what I don't get is why you think I'll help the likes of her." Kidou stated coldly, his voice dripping with venom and accusations- eyes flashing. Kidou felt the sudden urge to scream bloody murder and the need to twist her head off. Sakuma jumped in, ever the pacifist- instantly trying to bring peace in vain._

_:You think I had a choice in the matter? You think I CHOSE to come to scum like you for help? Believe me, I'd rather be at the bottom of the filthiest sewer than talk to you, much less ask for a favor. As for this being about me, it isn't- I'm here for her. I don't trust you alone with any girl- you groping lecher so I tagged along with her. Don't assume I came here to talk to you." If Kidou's voice had been cold, Zonex's was frozen. This was really bad but for some reason, Sakuma found that his voice wouldn't come out of his throat._

_Kidou had stared at her, his lips pulling back to form a purely horrendous grimace as he opened his mouth to retort when Ann hastily inserted herself into the conversation; ending the fray._

"_Please, just co-operate for the sake of a compromise. All of have something to gain from Yukira's fall if that occurs and that's a pretty big supposition we're riding upon. We need to work together on this." Sakuma ad to hand it to her, she was eloquent; gesturing with her hands, her eyes wide as she validated her point with the tumultuous emotions in her glittering eyes. _

"_I'll do it for Sakuma." Genda shoved his hands into his pockets as he spoke, his eyes averted from the scene. Ann now looked beseechingly at the only occupant of the room who had yet to cave in. _

"_I'll help." He finally conceded defeat, his shoulders dropping- the unmistakable air of resignation and gloom surrounding him; foreboding and morbid. Sakuma was astonished that his friend had agreed to co-operate with them and he helped them reach a compromise soon enough. Kidou wasn't on the honor roll for nothing. He was pure genius and Sakuma admired his friend as he rubbed his temple and quickly formed plans. _

_Things had finally started to look up- the metaphorical sun rising up in the horizon; the actual break of dawn still a few hours away at the moment._

Sakuma bit his lip nervously. He was still shocked that Kidou had agreed to help without knowing why his friend had even bothered to listen to the girls' suggestion of joining ranks in the first place. Genda knew the reason but Kidou hadn't known then when affirming his part in their group and he still didn't know. He glanced at the brunet out of the corner of his eye and saw that he was utterly unaffected by the turquoise eyed girl who always got on Genda's nerves.

"Whats wrong with being a prep?" Genda asked her, incredulous of the nature of the insult. The addressed woman merely flipped her hair back and sneered at him, her eyes narrowing as she did so.

"Oh nothing." And she cast a significant glance at Kidou as if he proved her statement. Sakuma suddenly felt fury rising within him, unbound and enraged emotions churning up inside of him and he fixed the girl with a look of pure venom and wished her dead upon the floor with her throat slit open- rivulets of blood flowing down her wound. How dare she insult Kidou when he was actually helping her?

The image of her dying on the floor calmed him a bit and he took pleasure in visualizing her bleeding to death. He only hoped that it would be imminent in the future.

"What are you implying?" Kidou's brows rose a fraction of a centimeter, staring at the girl with quiet authority. To Sakuma, he suddenly became so much more admirable- his former captain's cold exterior impenetrable- commanding respect without striking fear in everyone's hearts. Well, Zonex was a nobody right so that statement held true, as she didn't have a heart either. Sakuma grinned at his witty word play but decided to keep his euphoria at bay,

"Wow, and they think you're a genius. Who knew you'd turn out to be such a-" But she never got to the end of her jibe, a resounding crack reverberating in the suddenly still air inside the tiny room. Sakuma was usually claustrophobic but he could only blink as stare in utter and complete shock as Zonex went staggering, clutching her face as if a vice had been put to it. She looked so impeccably aghast that Sakuma almost felt sorry for her- almost but not quite.

Ann massaged her still stinging palm slowly, her eyes averted from the retreating purple haired girl and raising them silently to meet Kidou's before gently inclining her head.

"I'm sorry Kidou. She still needs to be taught a few things. She says that you're the immature one while she's the one who's causing all the trouble. Why don't you just fucking leave if you can't handle your past? No one here is going to miss your presence anyway since you're not exactly a bucket of sunshine Krypton." The albino's face was set in a grimace as she brought her eyes up to meet the shocked turquoise ones.

Zonex's left cheek seemed to be swelling with each passing minute, puffing up and turning darker by the minute. Ann's slap was going to leave a mark on her face for quite some time.

Now that the initial shock was over, Zonex's eyes clouded over with raw outrage and anger. Sakuma could suddenly understand why she felt so like a caged animal- always tense and pacing around; attempting to fight her way to freedom. She had just betrayed Yukira's clan and she had been banished from society- at least, exiled from the company of half he girls at campus.

And now Ann, her only friend during this war, was turning against her. She had nowhere to go anymore.

Sakuma winced and he felt a surge of pity rise in his heart as he watched her narrow her eyes, quickly stamping it out to prevent any emotion or sympathy from cultivating inside of him. There was no way he was going to even feel sorry for her- he wouldn't allow it. He saw that Genda looked bemused while Kidou just stood there and smirked, an awful taunting smile on his face as he let out a slight snicker.

Sakuma had a sudden sick feeling in the pit of his stomach which had nothing to do with the breakfast Natsumi had surprised them with.

"Guess you really care about him, huh? Too bad he'll never look at you, you bra-stuffer!" Zonex hissed, glaring at Ann with deep loathing blatant in her eyes- something about the raw hatred reflected inside her large eyes shook Sakuma to the very core of his being. It was just so wrong- no one was supposed to have hatred like that inside of them.

It was as if some old and ancient evil had reawakened inside the girl and she grabbed her purse as she flounced out of the room, but not before she paused and leered at them evilly.

"Have fun hanging out with these crack-heads. You might just get a guy to _look_ at you." She grinned malevolently and shut the door behind her with unnecessary force, leaving the room behind her cold and empty. Sakuma felt a shiver run up his spine. Where had been the usual 'you'll pay for this' threats everyone made but didn't actually mean? Although Sakuma had to admit that if Zonex had said those words, he would have believed her with gut-wrenching conviction.

She wasn't one to let things go easily, holding grudges for decades on end. Kidou had realized that by now too and Ann blinked before she sank down into a seat, suddenly looking weary and exhausted. Kidou walked over to her and smiled hesitatingly.

"Its okay, you're better off without the likes of her anyway." Ann wiped her eyes unconsciously, determined not to show her pain to them as stoics usually are. She looked up at him and gladly took is outstretched hand.

"Thank you. It was about high time she got what she deserved. No wonder you guys hated her from the start. I'm sorry for causing any of you any harm." She bowed slightly, her eyes dull as she tugged at the sleeve of her ebony black jersey. She straightened up with Kidou's help and her soft voice broke through the silence once again, addressing Sakuma and Kidou.

"We need a plan now. I will not stand Yukira getting away with this any longer. Gazelle is the only guy I've ever really cared about and she went too far this time. She'll pay." A silent deadly aura seemed to emanate from the short green-eyed girl as she raised her eyes and a flash of ancient anger glinted for a few seconds before vanishing into the depths of her jade-green enigmatic pools of knowledge.

Kidou nodded in agreement and Genda waved his hand dismissively to show that she had been forgiven and her sins forgotten. The only question which ruined their unity was a nagging query which made bile rise to his mouth instantly; almost choking him as he pretended he was coughing when his friends' gazes came to rest upon him.

_How the hell are we going to deal with two bloody witches out to kill us- bloodthirsty and seeking revenge? _


	9. Doubting My Doubts

I stared at the professor, her words going over my head as my mind churned with the previous week's events. I didn't know why I had slapped Zonex, but I knew it had felt good. It had felt nice to finally be able to blame someone for all the shit I've been going through lately and Zonex was as good a person as any to lay the blame upon.

I didn't feel regret at all for the fact that I had just lost a friend but am rather happy that I got three erect pillars to stand in her stead. Sakuma, Kidou and Genda have been extremely nice to me since the moment Zonex slammed that door. I don't get it- maybe it's a guy thing.

Whatever the reason, I know they'll back me up in the future. No more listening to Zonex and her idiotic ways. I'll finally get a say in matters from now on.

It was just that my damn conscience was nagging at me. Letting out a huff of air, I pushed my hair out of my eyes and stared at her empty seat. Why wasn't she in class? Did she really want to fail the semester? Sociology was an important subject. Why the hell was she bunking it?

Sighing, I knew that I would be expected to take the homework to her.

_Must make up an excuse. _I mused silently. It was better that the fewest possible people found out about my fight with her. That way, no one could gossip and spread all of their half-assed rumors which were almost always based on their assumptions.

What I don't get is why Zonex was such a brat at some times while seeming to be the best possible person at others. And suddenly, the memories of last Friday night rushed over me- the night when the I had been driven to Sakuma's doorstep to ask for his help. I remembered how reluctant Zonex had been and how she had insisted that she would take care of my problem.

_"I'll take care of it!" _But regardless of herprotests, I had dragged her along to Sakuma Jirou anyway. I knew he would be compassionate about this- I had heard a great deal about him.

The wind blew in the trees outside, causing the leaves to rustle softly but I was listening to a completely different sound.

_The wind was howling outside as Ann stumbled down the hallway, her mascara running and her face pale as she shivered although it had nothing to do with the cold. That bitch- she had gone too far this time. Ann could barely think straight when she finally reached the door to her room. _

_She knew her roommate would be inside and that she would ask questions- I knew what she was going through at the moment, the same thoughts still churning in my mind._

_I watched as my past self made an attempt to straighten herself up- failing miserably but hey, you had to give me credit for trying, right? _

_I floated; crap, I was really floating, behind her and watched as she sniffed and wiped her face with her sleeve, shutting her eyes and murmuring something to herself. I didn't need to strain my ears to catch what she was whispering- I already knew what she was saying, having reapeted it trillions of times in the course of my life- when faced with obstacles. _

"I own my mind." I muttered, my eyes closed as a shaft of sunlight pierced through the canopy of leaves- through the window and onto my face. I felt the warmth on my face and smiled blissfully only to be interrupted by the girl next to me.

_Damn._

"What the hell are you muttering?" It was Haruna something. I wrinkled my nose, trying to remember her last name. Oto-something. Oh well, I was sure she was Kidou's sister though- the gossip from Zonex had been enough for me to drown in. I owed a lot to Kidou- he was the one who was forming all of the plans.

He was coming up with these insane gems of genius and I was taking credit for his ingenuity.

I barely managed a smile at her- for Kidou's sake although for the life of me, I couldn't see how he dealt with her. She was just too peppy for my liking.

_And exactly what is your liking? Girls like Zonex- who cheat and lie? _A malicious voice broke through my thoughts and I wasted a few minutes trying to locate the owner of the nasal voiced jibe when I realized that it was my own mind, turning against me. There really was no place left for me to go.

Sighing, I waved the bluenette away, checked the clock to make sure I had enough time to float back into my memories and dove into my ocean once again- completely submerged in a matter of microseconds.

* * *

_I watched as my past self pulled herself together and entered the room. _

_She turned around and smiled at the girl who was arduously filing her nails away, intense concentration causing her to look almost serious; almost but not quite. But I knew better- Zonex Krypton was a hazard to health. Especially when she had her mid-night cravings or her crazy, insane midnight hubbas although at the moment, she seemed calm enough. She looked up and immediately, she motioned for my pas-self to sit down._

"_Sit down Ann." I almost sat down myself but then I realized, I would go right through the damned chair. Sighing, I continued watching my ex-best friend and myself. _

_Zonex smiled at her cheerily and my past-self, Ann, I made a mental note. She was Ann at the moment and I….I was a stranger. Ann managed a weak smile and that was when Zonex stared at her with piercing turquoise eyes, her expression giving nothing away- her eyes the only tools she required. I was shocked even now, seeing them the second time. _

_Eyes truly are the windows to one's soul and Zonex had just searched Ann's soul. _

"_You sure you're okay?" Zonex asked quietly, her eyes lowering slightly, as if she had confirmed her suspicions and was now content to interrogate her friend._

_I turned away. This was the part when I broke down and she comforted me; when I sobbed out the entire truth of what had happened and how Yukira was attempting- no, not attempting, succeeding in stealing my 'Gazelle' away from me. He was my boyfriend, wasn't he? He had said he loved me and even now, after nearly a week and a half, my heart ached and there was a dull, flat pain in my chest. _

_It wasn't fair that I had to pay for Zonex's mistake but at that moment in my memory, Ann didn't realize that the real snake was in her room- sitting across her with pursed lips. _

_My lip curled derisively. She had played me like such a violin. I had been so easy for her to trick- so why had she ruined my peace by this singular moment of friendship? Why couldn't she have left me to hate her forever in peace? Why did she have to leave me doubting my decisions and have needles of regret hit me now and then? _

_Why?_

_I sighed heavily, even after ditching me, Zonex was still causing to be a severe pain in my ass. _

_I watched as she repeated words of sympathy to me for like, the hundredth time- no, make that a million or maybe a trillion. Oh who cared? I lost count and you don't see me crying my eyes out! Okay, well, at the moment, I AM crying my eyes out but that's beside the point._

_The point is-_

_Oh my god! I don't have a point! I can't believe it, what has that egg-head done to me? My brains are scrambled! Have I finally cracked? All of my common sense and my logic seem to have been fried. _

I couldn't help but panic. What the hell was wrong with me? Why was I daydreaming so much and not taking notes? Only moments ago, I had been criticizing Zonex for cutting class and now, I was doing much the same. Why was I always in so much trouble these days? Ever since I moved out here, all I've had is bad luck, bad luck and MORE bad luck.

In fact, I've had terrible luck. But enough about that, I had a more pressing issue to deal with.

_Why the heck was I making egg jokes? _

Intensely worried and inanely creeped out, I made my way out of the class with everyone else, ignoring the professor's plaintive cries for us to queue out in an orderly file. Well, in my defense, nobody was listening to him so why the hell should I? I'm not a teacher's pet or anything you know.

Far from it, especially these days- since someone _anonymously _alerted the teachers that my friends and I were vandalizing the bathrooms.

"Miss Iruko, I've got a favor to ask of you." He stopped me amidst the sea of other students and I could feel a few of them stare at me as they left, shaking their heads. Yes, Yukira had done her job all too well. The entire campus hated me and Zonex. It was just too bad that my reputation had gotten trashed along with Zonex's.

Why did Yukira hate me anyway? It wasn't like I had done anything to her- maybe she was just too paranoid. She didn't like any threats whatsoever and apparently, I was a threat according to her.

_What the shit? She and her posse can go to hell for all I care, I just want my life back! _

I just don't get this anymore; things have finally gone way out of my hands. I smiled meekly at him and muttered my excuse before slipping off into the other direction. Thank Lord he wasn't like the Biology teacher who would have no doubt followed me outside to talk to me.

It was hard enough being targeted by the students but to actually be discriminated by the faculty was just too much.

In the distance, I could see Sakuma staring wistfully at Annie Matsukaze. All of a sudden, I felt a surge of pity and sympathy for him. He was experiencing the same anguish I'm going through and heaven help him, he's been enduring the mental torture since the beginning of the term. Poor guy- I could almost feel our minds connect as his head suddenly spun in my direction with frightening rapidity.

I was half expecting his neck to break but it didn't and he smiled wearily at me as Yukira immediately swooped down upon Annie and the two girls sneered at him before sashaying off into the other direction. Yeah, he definitely had it worse.

At least my plight was only about my record and stuff- or maybe it was more than that. I had a suspicion that the students weren't eyeing me for the colorful shirt I was wearing but because they secretly despised me, feared me even- due to Yukira's rumors; all of them false of course.

I never did shag a kitten; I don't know where she came up with that one. Neither do I remember, if memory serves me correctly which I know it does; vandalizing the bathrooms with blazing slogans of the fact that I raped my sister.

_I don't even HAVE a sister!_

Seriously, how dumb can you get? Apparently, _I _had even _signed my name _underneath the damn graffiti. Do they all really think I'm that stupid, that I would sign my _name _after committing a crime? Sheesh, she doesn't know how to pull off a decent job although the planted spray cans had definitely done their job. Now, even the most retarded and lowest entities at the campus regarded me as an idiot and a criminal.

All the better I guess but I had to admit, when Fudou Akio veered away from me with a disdaining sneer, I really got pissed and only made matters worse by yelling at him in the middle of the corridor- profanities, curses and threats tumbling out of my mouth; jumbled together in an intricate mess of tangled speech and insults.

I noted his shock with pleasure; there was only one benefit to being the innocent-charged-as-guilty and it was that now, when I made threats, people listened to me. They feared me- I'm not kidding and if you need proof, just look at half the students in the hall way. They look ready to piss in their pants, skirts etc. There was a wide range of diverse clothing from around the world; often being ridiculous in some cases whilst fabulous in others.

I sighed and let the hall monitor escort me to the principal's office for the third time this week. I'm on a first name basis with him now. Take that Akio! Bet you never got that far, huh! Suddenly. my chain of thoughts was interrupted by a single thought.

_Oh my Gosh! What the hell am I even doing, comparing criminal records? _

"Its okay Ted, I know where to go from here." I shrugged him off and made my way into the forbearing and rather morbid office, briefly catching my adversary's smile as the door closed behind me. Damn, why do I make things easier for them? Who needs enemies if you've got your own traitorous self?

You see, although people took one look at me and decided that I was emotionless and indifferent, I was anything but. I had inherited my rather fiery and explosive nature from my father- I chuckled as a memory of him chasing a salesman away from the door flooded my eyes.

Ah, the good old days. Why did we have to move? I hated it here. In fact, the only good thing was Suzuno and he too, had started avoiding me since he was on the debate team and on the honor roll. Cut him some slack, I know he liked me and believed me but I refused to put his reputation on the line as well.

What good would it do? That she-witch and her loyal hag would just slam him down to the ground with me and I was NOT going to let that happen any time soon. Not if I could help it so now, due to my insistence, my dates with him had become rather non-existent.

_More like impossible. _I thought sourly as I entered the private room and sat down on a seat, I already had a usual seat now.

_What is my life coming to?_

The principal entered ad started on his usual ramble about discipline and rules. Gah! He had learnt the stupid rule book. What the heck was wrong with humanity nowadays? Why couldn't they see that everything that seems to be true is almost always a web of lies?

It was over in like, fifteen minutes. After a great deal of nodding and faking contrite expressions, I was free and I trudged back to my apartment in the dorms. I wish I hadn't messed with Yukira now; for shit's sake, she was the vice president of the super popular sorority on the campus. She had the vote and support of every person who mattered. Siding with Krypton had been a mistake.

Sassy and gorgeous as she had been, Zonex had been despised by many of the in-crowd for her vile actions of the past and no wonder; I hated her too after I heard about the _true _version of her ears with them.

Don't get me wrong, Yukira had been involved too but according to Zonex, she had cleverly removed herself from the equation by pretending to be shocked with her too.

_The little toad._

I was rather glad I had ditched her now but even as I approached my shared apartment, I wondered whether she was home or not.

I secretly hoped she wasn't. As soon as I entered the rather small accommodations provided by the school, I was buffeted by the rest of the memory of that evening.

* * *

_I watched as once again, my past-self aka Ann told Zonex everything. The ghostly apparitions conjured up by my mind were frighteningly real and I could hear them perfectly. It was as f it had happened yesterday; the memory was so vivid and detailed. Or maybe it was because I kept dragging it up from the depths of my mind every five minutes I should really give it a rest now._

_Yeah, that must be it, and now that I had gotten my logical explanation, I settled down to watch the two girls. _

_Zonex coaxed Ann or rather, me into telling her everything- confessing my/her fears and a little while later, Ann admitted that she had asked Suzuno to stop seeing her. It was too dangerous these days to be caught together with him. Now she knew what it felt like to leave home to fight in the war to protect your loved ones- It was terrible._

_Blah blah blah...And another blah. _

_Through everything I only heard the speech now. What was the point of watching myself sob inconsolably?_

"_It'll be alright Ann. Just wait." Zonex stroked my hair just like my mom used to, her voice soothing me even as I stood away from the scene- watching her console my past-self; the Ann Iruko who had been Zonex's friend. _

"_N-no it won't! She'll never stop!" A lot of sobs and hiccoughs interrupted my words but I managed them out nonetheless. Why was I such an emotional wreck? I watched as Zonex whispered the last few words which jolted me out of my memory._

* * *

I sat down on the edge of the bed, trying to comprehend what she had said and why. It was with disappointment that I flung myself onto the empty bed on the right side of the room- alone without my friend to help me sleep in peace. I remembered her last words perfectly. I had them memorized by now but they ceased to make sense with each passing moment.

"_Don't worry, I'll take care of her." _

And with irritation, I flopped my head on the pillow and drifted off into troubled sleep, not even bothering to change or complete my assignments. After all, I was only doing what was expected of me.

_I'm bad to the bone. _And that was when I jumped out of bed; having remembered that I hadn't brushed my teeth yet. Bad to the bone alright- too bad my bone was covered by a tonne of good muscle and tissue.


	10. Scales Of Balance

"Hey! Did you hear about Yukira's party this weekend?" Natsumi Raimon's voice rung throughout the room she had just entered and all the girls looked up to see her as she flipped her hair, her eyes shining with exuberance and excitement. Aki Kino, a sporty girl with forest green hair immediately jumped up and squealed with joy.

"Spill! It's been so long since we've had any real fun these days!" Her friend Haruna Otonashi smiled and joined the conversation, her sapphire blue hair bouncing and shining underneath the bright fluorescent lights as she nodded fervently. Every other girl perked up as well; Aki hadn't been kidding when she had said that the campus had been dull of late. Reina Yagami flipped her hair back, studying her nails as she sighed with frustration.

"Yeah, Aki's right. Life's been so dreary ever since- yeah, well, you know since….." She trailed off helplessly. And indeed, everyone did know why everything had been so morbid of late. Everyone needed a break from all the formalities these days- it was just so disturbing to know that Kidou and the others hung out with vandals and even after the evidence had been found, they had supported them. What the hell was going on with them?

Natsumi had always respected Kidou and supported him in the past but this was just crazy- even Touko, his long time friend and an old ex-girl friend, was shocked. And that wasn't good at all.

_Maybe Zonex cast a spell on those four._ Her mind whirred with all the possible explanations when her logic appealed to her senses. It couldn't have been Zonex because the girl had separated from Ann and the rest a while ago. Not that it wasn't interesting to hear about the girls discuss Yukira's party, Natsumi was more worried about her friends.

She checked the delicate wristwatch she wore and breathed a sigh of relief- Kidou was probably at his chess tournament. That guy was seriously too into chess and strategies but hey, who was complaining? As long as it made Raimon's team clock goal after goal in each match, Natsumi was fine with whatever the brilliant guy did as long as it did not involve underwear. That would be too much for her to accept. Underwear and Mowhawks. She hated those as well.

"Hey guys, we should get Kidou a present for winning that tournament." Natsumi chimed in when she realized that she had spaced out a little. A nudge from Touko had been sufficient enough to jot her out of her reverie-

_I hope that doesn't leave a mark! _She frowned slightly. Although a great friend, Touko always had been a bit rough around the edges no matter how much effort Rika and Natsumi put in their futile to tame her. She would never change- ever and maybe that was a good thing.

"He hasn't won yet!" Rika pointed out, raising an eyebrow at her before she was instantly hushed by the group. Natsumi felt a smirk tugging at her lips. It felt good to be popular at times like these. She sighed exasperatedly and rolled her eyes at Rika.

"Well, duh, he's going to win! He's the national champion and among the top ten international masters. Do you really think he'll lose?" Rika seemed to be considering this when Haruna jumped in proudly, seeming to bask in the reflected light of her brother's brilliance.

"Hell yeah, he'll win for sure! Let's make Kidou's party merge with Yukira's. It'll be better that way!" Her suggestion was met with enthusiasm as the girls waited for the guest of honor to arrive- pulling the idea to shreds whilst scorning and ridiculing other lamer ideas. One thing was certain though, the party was going to be a blast!

_He'll never see it coming! _Natsumi thought gleefully.

* * *

Kidou watched in deathly silence as his opponent made his fatal move.

_Gotcha! _

His mind was triumphant but Leonardo wouldn't know that yet- Kidou's poker face wasn't famous for nothing after all. He watched as the boy across him shifted his queen to take Kidou's rook which had been threatening the King. The red eyed teen could almost feel the other's confidence and his mind licked its lips, anticipating the downfall of this arrogant boy before him.

"Check-" Kidou spoke quietly, a slight smile at the corners of his mouth as he moved his Knight into position and allowed himself a brief acknowledging smile when Leonardo's eyes widened with shock, visibly shaken. "-mate. Game over." Kidou grinned, he had been rather theatrical about it but it was all worth it to see Leonardo's face as he realized that he had lost the trophy to Kidou.

"Good game man!" He congratulated Kidou before walking off, obviously embarrassed now that all of his swagger and boasts had been shot down to the ground and on live camera too. This just got better and better. He could hear Sakuma hooting from the other side as Kidou was interviewed by the reporters.

It was common for him to be assaulted with questions about his personal life. Finally letting his satisfaction show through his mask of indifference, he posed for the picture for the the next day's newspaper's cover.

Forty five minutes later, Kidou walked out of the room, holding his belongings when Sakuma and Genda sauntered over to where he was. Kidou quickly waved to his friends in greeting.

"Yo! Man, that was intense! When you guys were in the last fifteen minutes, I thought I'd faint! It was just so full of action!" Genda's voice dripped with sarcasm but his eyes showed that he was proud of his over-achieving friend. Kidou smirked as Sakuma whacked him on the head.

"You never do anything normally, do you Kidou? Why couldn't you finish him off sooner?" He demanded, laughing as Genda feigned a look of mock horror, widening his eyes for maximum effect.

"Oh heavens no! Why cut such an interesting match short when you could rather be spending your time doing something which doesn't reek of 'nerd'? Oh I know, because it's normal!" Genda's eyes narrowed as he turned towards the one eyed boy who was exchanging shoves with Kidou.

"Why do we always watch his matches again?'

Sakuma was laughing openly, amusement etched upon his face. "For moral support you Loony!" Kidou shook his head, shaking a fist at Genda as the brunet dodged and called out to Sakuma.

"Tell me again why we come to support him if he wins anyway?" Sakuma just muttered something which sounded oddly like 'tell me again why I bring him along with me?' but Genda let it pass genially, smiling at Kidou. The red eyed boy couldn't remember being happier in the past term, what with all the bitch fights he had gotten involved in.

In his opinion, bitch fights were much better left alone- there was a reason they were called _bitch _fights.

He was about to brag about his matches in the tournament when a clear voice rang out from somewhere behind them.

"Congratulations Yuuto. I hope you don't mind playing a few matches against me… unless of course, you'd rather not." Kidou tensed and let out a breath of frustration. Why couldn't he have a moment of peace without someone interrupting it? He turned around to hand his trophy to Genda, thought better of it and gave it to Sakuma instead.

"You don't have to play you know." Genda muttered from his right but Kidou shook his head. He knew he had no choice in the matter. His pride wouldn't let it go- the challenge had been so conspicuous, someone would have to have been blind to not notice it.

He made his way back to the table and stared at the pale disheveled girl with derision. She had walked out on her own friend, abandoning her to the sharks after placing her in the predicament herself. Kidou had known that she was cowardly and low but he hadn't expected this from her- not at all.

"Looked into a mirror recently?" Genda called out from behind them as she too, seated herself across Kidou and placed the board.

Ignoring the insult, the rumpled girl chose black herself. Kidou stared at her with incredulity, suspicion filtering into his mind. Why had she chosen black?

"Let's play then." Zonex Krypton smile at him, revealing startling white teeth and Kidou noticed that she had two pointed teeth- rather like canines at the sides of her mouth. They seemed more prominent now that her lips were not smeared with gunk females called 'make up'.

And Kidou moved his pawn, ready to defeat her once and for all.

* * *

Can you guys guess the significance of why Zonex chose black? And can you guess who will win? ^^


	11. I'm NOT Gay

"Did you see the look on her face?" Genda crowed, nearly hopping with euphoric excitement, continuing without waiting for a reply. "You got her good man! She never saw that check mate coming!" The brunet seemed beside himself with joy and delight- his eyes sparkling with joy. I smiled weakly at him, he wouldn't understand.

I slipped back into my thoughts when suddenly-

"What's with him?" He pointed towards me with a sudden withdrawal from the euphoria inducing steroids- rolling his eyes at the other person at the table. "You'd think he would be happy he won but no! He HAS to pull on a face my mother makes when she's waxing her legs!" Sakuma merely shook his head and shrugged. I sent a silent thank you to whoever was above for having blessed me with Sakuma.

He was such a sweat heart about these things- that's what the girls said about it anyway.

I am not, repeat NOT gay in any way possible contrary to public belief!

I'm just repeating what others have said before me. Anyway, leaving that topic- where was I? Oh yes, I was thanking the Lord for Sakuma because he didn't take Genda's side. Yeah, whatever, can we please move on? So like I was saying, Genda- wait- _he watches his mom wax her legs? _Seriously, this guy is nuts. I shuddered as a mental image of the smiling plump woman's hairy legs pervaded my mind.

_Genda's right, I am distracted. What's wrong with me? Why the hell am I thinking about things like Genda's mom and stuff? _

"I bet he's not even listening to me! KIDOU?" Genda's voice rose several octaves and I whipped my head around to face him, grateful that he had pulled me out of my frightening reverie. I was so grateful, I was ready to hug the guy- again, I'm not gay; just emotional at the moment. Although I seriously cannot say the same for my blue eyed friend who was busy shooting optical daggers at me, scowling all the while; emotional, yes, but hugging?

I don't think so.

Not that I want him to hug me or anything- just saying. What is wrong with me today? Why am I so moody? Genda's right, as surprising as the notion is, its true. I'm acting like such a stranger today- almost as bad a ditz as Endou.

_Okay, that's exaggeration gone too far! No one can be as dumb as that idiot. _

"I'm fine, its just that- I'm not sure whether I won fairly or not." I muttered when Genda poked me for shutting up yet again. This has got to be the third time he's poked me! If he pokes me _one _more time, I swear to God I'll break his damned finger clean off! I'm not kidding- I'll snap it into two pieces. I swear, I'm serious... I was in the middle of mentally ranting about what I'd do to his bloody finger but then he poked me again.

I hate myself- why didn't I break his finger off? I've got to work on my will power.

Anyway, Genda went on to poke me, yet _again _whilst I stifled the urge to scream or bite his finger. "Are you nuts? You beat her fair and square dude! What's wrong with you?" Genda demanded, looking as irked as a girl does when her crush fails to notice her new hair style. _Why am I behaving like a gay today? _ I could seriously bang my head against a rock, what with all of my insanity today.

He's right, what _is _wrong with me?

Have I caught some weird 'lose-control-of-your-senses' disease? I worriedly wondered when I had last been in contact with Endou or Fidio. Worse, is it permanent? I shook my head to get rid of those thoughts. What I was doing was just stupid- I don't care, but with a sinking feeling, I realized that if I didn't care, then what was that terrified part of me which wanted to go and arrange an appointment with a psychiatrist as soon as possible?

Well, whatever, Genda was wrong. Although I didn't cheat in anyway, I can't say I won. There was something about how she played and led me into all sorts of traps that meant she was plotting something and the last checkmate had surprised me beyond anything. Maybe because she had literally walked into it deliberately. Whatever the reason, I know she could have gotten rid of my knight easily which is why I wonder what the true outcome of this match would have been had she not waved the white flag.

"Earth to Kidou! Planet Earth wants their human back from Mars! Seriously man, what the hell is wrong with you?" Genda cried out, angry that he was being ignored once again. His finger wavered in the air nearby, ready to poke me once again for not paying attention. Okay, reality check; that was the past and I can't change it- however, Genda's finger can be stopped right now if I listen to him rant. Easy question really.

"Yeah, I'm listening," I answered, smiling as if agreeing with him. "I totally wrecked her, I just wanted you to say it!" Genda's indignation was still simmering but it was slowly evaporating until he broke out into a huge smile. I almost laughed out loud at him. I knew just what to say to make him smile!

_Okay, I definitely sounded too gay this time! God, what is it with the gay stuff today?_

I almost shook my fist in Sakuma's face when he shot me a concerned look, his good eye peering at me. "I knew it!" Genda exclaimed triumphantly, grinning so widely I swear his mouth would fall off any minute now. We continued walking towards the gate… now I just have one problem left;

"Will one of you guys please carry this fucking trophy for me? It's kind of heavy!" And Sakuma laughed while Genda shook his head fervently, concluding my earlier point- I have lousy friends.

Now if I can only figure out why Zonex had surrendered so easily. I glanced at Sakuma and saw that he was awfully quiet for him- more so than usual these days. Maybe he was wondering why Zonex had made that stupid bland mistake as well. That was my buddy, he could always guess things for what they were! He is so observant-

"I wonder what we'll have for lunch!" Sakuma groaned, clutching his middle dramatically. Okay, maybe he and I aren't on the same page- forget page, we aren't even reading the same book! And snorting with laughter, we swapped our experiences with great food.

* * *

"I wonder whom we should invite to the party," Natsumi wondered aloud, tapping her perfectly manicured nails on the table top. Aki smiled at her, agreeing that the list was hard to make. Kidou had such stuffy friends- with the exception of Genda of course. He was the life of all parties! There was no way he wasn't going to be on that list.

She chewed the end of her pencil nervously when she came to the third name on the list.

_'Sakuma Jirou'_

_'Afuo Terumi'_

_'Ann Iruko'_

_'Genda Koujirou'_

She couldn't decide what to do about her. On one hand, Kidou obviously hung out with her and found her cool whilst on the other hand, she was obviously not someone Natsumi wanted at a part.

"Hey guys," she called out, "do you think we should invite Ann?" As expected, everyone swiveled in their seats to stare at her as if she had just suggested getting her hair styled in a mohawk like Fudou.

"Are you insane? Why would we want to invite that retard to the party?" Reina sneered at Natsumi, flipping her hair away from her face. Natsumi felt stung by their responses, thanking the Lord that Yukira didn't know about the addition to her party so she couldn't have heard her suggest Ann's name. She would have seriously flipped if she had.

"Reina's right Natsumi, we can't invite her. You know how hostile she is." Haruna interrupted, looking guilty. And no wonder, she must have been betraying Kidou when she said that. After all- Ann was Kidou's new friend these days.

_I wonder if that's all there is to it. Maybe he's got a thing for her or something. He always did like bad people- Fudou's the best example. He hangs out with him too. _Natsumi couldn't help but wonder about the millions of possibilities.

She was about to voice her opinion when a sudden laugh rang throughout the room. "You think I WANT to come to that lame party? It's just as well that you don't want to invite me because I so don't want to waste my time throwing it away into the trash. You guys don't deserve that much effort." Ann glared at them all, her jade green eyes derisive and a mocking smile on her face.

She turned around and left the room, sauntering out and slamming the door behind her.

Somewhere to her left, Haruna whimpered. Oh, she was definitely in trouble now. Natsumi was sure Ann would tell Kidou- and then all hell would break loose.

_What have we done?_


	12. First Rift

So what if they hadn't invited me? It wasn't like I liked any of them anyway. Frustrated, I let my breath out slowly, letting it hiss out in a whisper. Suzuno stared at me with cool calculating eyes, searching my face slowly then moving on to lock gazes with me.

"What's wrong Ann? He asked after a moment of scrutinizing me with those beautiful, large, clear teal eyes of his. Damn! I need to get hold of myself! I nervously fingered a stray lock of my hair, twisting it around and around my finger as I considered his question. The man sitting next to me was none other than Suzuno Fusuke, one of the most popular seniors at Raimon.

If you're wondering how I got to be sitting here in a lonely secluded spot in Suzuno's own private garden in the middle of the night, then keep wondering!

It's none of your business!

Snapping back to attention, I smiled at my boyfriend sweetly, trying my best to appear content and happy. "I'm fine Suzy!" I chirped in my brightest voice, widening my eyes like those dumb girls do in the movies. Suzuno smiled back at me and shook his head, the moonlight illuminating his pale skin.

"If you don't want to tell me, its fine; I don't mind but don't lie about it Ann," he spoke quietly as he usually did.

_Epic Fail! Why did I call him Suzy? He knows something's up then! _I could have slapped myself at that moment but I kept myself composed for Suzuno's sake.

I have been told that in his day, he had been an insufferable egoistic brat but I have yet to see that side of him. I mean seriously, how can I if he insists on behaving like such a prick around me? He's so- so well behaved! The perfect gentleman! Gah! I'd rather have him mess up a few times but I guess that's why I love him; for his stability, his IQ level, his creativity as well as his sensitivity and the fact that he's totally hot doesn't hurt at all.

So if he's so perfect, why am I feeling so down today? It can't have been because of those bloody bitches earlier- I seriously don't give a shit about them.

So why is my stomach twisting itself into metaphorical knots?

"I'm sorry, its just that I was sort of thinking about Zonex. She still hasn't come back you know." _Score! He'll never catch that lie! _I cheered silently but immediately felt a wave of regret wash over me as his eyes darkened with a flood of concentration and his nose wrinkled ever so daintily as he considered my answer. What the hell was I doing, celebrating that I had gotten away with lying to him? What is wrong with me today? How can I lie to him when he sacrifices so much for me?

"Well," he finally responded, having pulled a few blades of grass out of the spacious lawn and twisted them nimbly, giving them a distinct shape. I mentally kicked myself and whirled to face him, all ears- the perfect attentive girl friend. "It might have something to do with the fight you two had." _Great, thanks for reminding me. Absolutely wonderful- pinning the blame on me. Come to think of it, he's not that perfect._ I almost scowled but he seemed to guess what I was thinking because he immediately raised his hands in mock surrender.

"Hey, I don't mean its your fault. I'm just stating facts. She must be sulking somewhere or whoring herself in some dark strip club or bar," he offered his excuse with a slight grin, smiling at me.

But whatever reaction he had been expecting, I bet he didn't expect shock and revulsion. How _dare _he say something about her? I may be fighting with her but she was _not_ a whore of any sort. I glared at him with fury, he had no right to call her that. Is that what everyone said about her behind her back?

"Excuse me, but what makes you think she's a slut?" I had no intention of letting him off the hook any time soon, if ever. I could see surprise flitting across his face before it slid underneath his mask of calm once again, subdued. I don't believe it-I managed to surprise him! Chalk one up for me!

"Well, the way you talk about her and everyone talks about her, it isn't much of a lie. And given her history with the rest of the students here, that theory became fact." Suzuno's eyes were shrewd now, watching her quietly- waiting for her to make her next move. I can't believe I'm fighting with him! What have we come to?

"I guess you're right about her history but that doesn't entitle her to be a whore!" I shot back, anger rising in the pits of my soul.

"No, it just makes her a two-timing retard," he replied quietly and I was astonished to note that he was serious. He nodded at me and I suddenly felt annoyed with him, myself, Haruna, Kidou and everyone else in the world- especially a certain missing purple haired girl.

"Let's just forget it," I replied, shaking my head but I could see from his expression that he wasn't forgetting this anytime soon. Well good, because neither am I! How could be so narrow minded and believe all the rumors? I don't know why I mind so much anyway. All the gossip about Zonex is true, okay, almost all. At least, I hope only a little bit is true. I mean, the part about her getting an abortion just _cannot _be true, right?

Maybe I'm worried about what he thinks of me? I couldn't help but sigh as we got up to leave, dusting our clothes. Just before we came to the gate, he handed me the blades of grass he had been twisting and knotting for the past fifteen minutes. A small green heart lay on the palm of my hand as we made our way back home together.

I hope nothing else goes wrong this week.

* * *

Ann stood up and dusted her skirt gently, smiling when that albino beside her flicked her hair away from her face. _Revolting displays of public affection. _

He was all wrong for her anyway! He couldn't' even tell when she was upset.

I'll make sure no one hurts her again. Not her- she believed me when no one else did. That made her special and anyone who dared to mess with her would answer to me. She'll be happy soon, I promised myself. No matter who needs to be sacrificed for it. After all, the sacrifices for the greater good are always heavy but the outcome is always more important.

It's been proved time and time again.

No one would hurt my sister no matter what. I'd kill them before they ever made her cry again. The moon shone in the cloudless night and I turned around and walked away.

Phase one of the plan was already complete.

* * *

Ambushed- I was trapped with no other place to go. I turned around, my mouth dry, ready for the imminent torture. I just hope it wasn't painful. Who am I kidding, its always painful, I squared my shoulders and whipped around to face adversity in the face.

"Hey Kidou, you wanna go and party the night away this weekend?" Genda cried out, smiling at him as if already expecting a yes. I sighed and shrugged at Sakuma who was ginning himself silly in the corner. Trapped- I had no excuse to give for not wanting to go. "I mean, it'll be awesome! We've been hanging around that Ann girl too often, she's a downer man! We already agreed to give up that dumb project!" The brunet continued, smiling at me with sparkling eyes.

Wait- why'd I notice his eyes anyway? Agh! Not again, I'm not gay… I'm just having a brief relapse from sanity, that's all. Nothing unusual at all.

"For the last time Genda, I'm not interested!" Okay, that sounded so wrong on so many levels! _Shut up!_ I wanted to scream at myself but of course, that would be a one-way ticket to the psychiatrist whom I still haven't visited as of yet. Must meet her sometime soon before I actually lose myself to the madness.

"Why not?" he whined, scowling at me heavily. Is it just me or does he look better scowling? I mean, his tattoos become more prominent- wait, no! _I must not compliment guys, I must not compliment guys, I must not compliment guys, I must…_

"Hey, what's that?" Sakuma interrupted, pointing at a piece of white paper sticking out from underneath my door. I quickly unlocked the room and went in cautiously, ready for anything from stalkers to crazy mutant Ninja Penguins with mohawks. Mohawks… hmm… Haven't seen Fudou around much lately, wonder what he's up to. I wonder if it's gay to want to know where a friend is….. With my luck, it probably is.

"Guys, this is so creepy!" Genda whispered from somewhere behind me. I whipped around to see friends crouched in attack positions- Sakuma clutching a book, ah, History of the Mughals, that would pack a punch and Genda… Genda was brandishing his cell phone. What was he going to do, text the person to death? I sent up a mental prayer for Genda to get his brain back from the cleaners soon.

I scanned my room quickly- nothing seemed to be moved or missing. I was just about to release a sigh of relief when Sakuma suddenly yelled and pointed to the bed. On it lay a single white rose, mutilated with red paint and its petals slashed. It was a wonder I recognized it as a flower at all.

"Kidou, I think you should see this," Genda spoke quietly. I instantly felt something die inside me- Genda was never serious. What was so bad that he wasn't pretending to choke on his tonsils as usual? He was holding the letter in his hand and he suddenly started laughing, pointing at the paper.

Seriously, I could kill him. He almost gave me a heart attack!

"Looks like Kidou here has a secret ADMIRER!" He hooted, passing the page over to Sakuma for closer inspection. Sakuma scanned the page quickly and within a few minutes, he too was grinning widely and waving the paper in Kidou's face. "This girl is hardcore dude!" Genda chortled in the corner as he started leaving the room. "I guess I'll leave you now. I seriously needed that. I'll see you later at the party man!" Shit, he hadn't forgotten! I was hoping he had in all the excitement but Genda could be amazingly determined at some times.

"Bye Kidou, I have to go. I sort of have a date with Annie." Sakuma waved goodbye, still grinning and chuckling slightly. I smiled, Sakuma had summoned the urge to go and approach Annie a few days earlier and they were getting along rather well now that Yukira was away on some 'Cheerleading thing' as Fidio Aldena had described it as, literally using his fingers to air quote it, rolling his eyes. I seriously like that guy…. Asa friend, I mean he's sort of cool.

Gah! Just forget it, this disease is permanent! I'm not getting rid of it so I better start accepting it now.

I walked over and closed the door after Sakuma with a barely audible 'click' and made my way back to my desk where Sakuma had left the note. I picked it up and read the poem it contained.

* * *

_It takes two to make one,_

_The Hunter and the Hunted,_

_The chase isn't fun if there's no one to run_

_After me with a gun,_

_When the clock strikes twelve,_

_On the night when two merge to make one,_

_It shall be done,_

_The deed which shall avenge my angel,_

_Hurry up- before I ring the bell_

_My dear sweet lover boy,_

_Don't try to fight it;_

_You know you can't escape me and my flight_

_Shall be imminent,_

_After the princess has sung_

_Her last song-_

_Punishing her for all of her wrongs._

_Be there, _

_Or be ready to lose them dear._

_-X_

* * *

I stared at the note, shivers running down my spine. What was so romantic about this note? It was more like a threat note. Was this girl seriously going to hurt any girl he asked out?

_Who said it was a girl? _I was suddenly struck with unease. There had to be something more to this note than a stupid prank or stalker. Should I be worried or something? Call the authorities? _Now stay calm Kidou, don't lose your head over this. Its probably just a joke. Try to think rationally about this. There has to be something you've missed. _A quiet voice of reasoning rung inside me and I followed its instructions, checking underneath my bed and desk, feeling into the pillows and I was just about to abandon my search when I went to stare out the window.

A single necklace glinted underneath the moonlight, shining brightly. My hand shook as I reached out to take the silver trinket. Once I had it in my hands, I could see that it had a picture inside. After several minutes of struggling, I managed to pry it open and another note lay folded inside.

A distinct feeling of dread rung inside me. I ripped the paper out from the encasement and tried to unfold it quickly without actually tearing the paper into two- easier said than done.

Once it was open and lay out in front of me, I stared at the paper in shock.

**'Tag, you're it'**

What did this freak mean by 'it'? What was he? And what kind of a game were they trying to get me involved into? Maybe it's a murderer or a thief who wants to play hide and seek with me….. Okay, this was definitely a bad day. I massaged my temple slowly as a throbbing pain hit me suddenly.

I wasn't up to this today. Both notes were unsigned but then again, what kind of an idiot would sign the damn things? I'd just have to sleep on it.

Who knows, maybe I'm just over reacting! Maybe this is Fudou's idea of a sick joke, I mean, they do say 'think of the devil and he appears' and I was thinking of him…Oh well, I'll solve it out tomorrow.

But before going to bed, I made sure my door and window were locked. You could never be too careful.

* * *

I typed this out for a friend!


	13. The Game

"I wonder when he'll understand the game," I smiled at the terrified girl with a sadistic smirk. "I mean, I left a lot of clues and he is supposed to be a genius after all but he _is _Kidou Yuuto- you can almost count on him to screw up." I laughed loudly, fingering my hair slowly.

"He'll figure it all out, witch! He'll make sure you get what you deserve! He's way smarter than you!" my captive suddenly yelled at me, eyes blazing with emotion but she fell silent when I walked over to her in the darkness. I know she couldn't see me but she sure as hell could_ feel _me! I'd make sure of that.

"What makes you so sure he'll save you honey?" I whispered into her eyes and she whimpered. I savored the feeling of her fear before swinging my hand back and bringing it forward with all the force I could muster. Damn, these idiots were more annoying than I had originally thought.

It's a good thing they won't live long enough to annoy anyone else.

Unless their savior could save them of course. Which, considering that goggled idiot's current problems and therapies, is hardly likely. I doubt he'll even get the message I left for him.

Well, whatever, they'd die either way. After all, that was what I was here to do, wasn't it? I hadn't been called here for no reason- I was right. It had been totally worth it to bear all the fucking retards in the town to see their instinctual fear when I brought my knife down upon them.

Oh this was going to be an awesome week alright! Because unknown as it was to everyone, I was counting on the guy to come and attempt to rescue my prisoners. After all, a game isn't nearly half as fun when you play it alone- that's where the bastard came in. He was rumored to be the brightest door knob around but I had doubted it from the moment I laid my eyes on him. I mean seriously, a cape? What's he trying to do, try out for the role of Superman?

And recently, he had finally gotten enough common sense to remove the dumb gaudy thing but he replaced it with stupid dreadlocks and larger shades. I was looking forward to the type of challenge he'd provide.

And if he didn't, let's just say I don't deal well with disappointment.

* * *

Hey guys! ^^ I typed this out on my birthday for a friend of mine who's leaving soon for a dreaded three month vacation from the internet and her senses. QwQ

Ann, I hope you liked it and the previous chapters because I typed them urgently for you to have as much suspense as you could before you left. I'm even trying to end the story before the dreaded day.


	14. Arrangements

Hi Ann, I guess I took longer than usual to update this time. *Its directed at her since she's the only one who reads it and I don't mind, she's a good friend*. I hope you have fun, although its shorter than usual too. ._.' \

Anyways, have fun! ^^

* * *

_And so it begins_.

Kidou stared at the note on his desk before letting out a feral growl of frustration- as surely as it had begun, it had to end; and soon if he was to escape unscathed.

* * *

Loud music buffeted Natsumi as she stared critically at the party arrangements- something wasn't right. It still needed something which was missing. It was the day before Yukira's welcome home party and Natsumi was determined to make it perfect, mainly because she was a perfectionist and everyone had entrusted her with the arduous task of producing a superb party.

And Yukira was the co-captain of the cheerleading squad- it didn't hurt to get brownie points, did it?

She hummed to herself as she tapped her pencil against her clipboard, scanning the list quickly, trying to gauge what it was that the party needed to be complete. Roses? She remembered an afternoon of the past when Yukira had told her she loved roses beyond anything else in the world whilst the two girls had been discussing classy and refined men. It would be exactly what she needed.

She waved at the man to shut the sound system off. It was already perfect so there was no need to adjust it- or let it play for any longer because to be frank, Natsumi didn't really appreciate Yukira's choice in music. It was awfully… loud. There was simply no other word for the throbbing rhythms in the gym.

"Excuse me- I'm sorry the order is so late but can you please get some roses?" she asked the party caterers, smiling at them apologetically. Yukira and Sara would have scorned her polite tone but she knew that sometimes, being beguiling was better than ordering people around. It caused fewer commotions.

The man blinked at her and shook his head, smiling back at her- obviously charmed. "But Miss Raimon, someone has already ordered two dozen placements of roses beforehand. Are you sure you want to order more?" he asked, casting an admiring glance at his crew's work.

Natsumi felt surprise and she knew it showed on her face because the man waved a hand at her; a way of reassuring her and said, "Miss Raimon, don't worry, the order came with the initial one. I'm sure a friend of yours must have remembered it before you and it's a good thing she did. It's too late to get roses now and your friend had obvious taste- she ordered white long stemmed roses with green leaves still attached, fully bloomed." Natsumi smiled when she heard the order- it was perfect for the party.

She couldn't have placed it better herself. "Thank you Mr. Granger, I'm grateful for all that you and your men have done here." The man inclined his head slightly and walked away to resume his work. Natsumi went back to her clipboard in an attempt to crush the nervous feelings in her heart- something _still _wasn't right. Oh well, maybe it was the ribbons. And she returned to her work, slightly more disgruntled than before.

'_I still have to give Kidou that note_,' she thought as she crossed the flowers off the list.

* * *

Next time, Aki could arrange the party, she was through. It was too much hard work.

I stared at the notes laid out in front of me on my desk. Ever since the first note, Sakuma's theory of my secret admirer was closely evaporating into oblivion and my previous misgivings had been correct. This person was no admirer- not at all. And they knew about my past- all of it.

My first suspect had been Krypton but then I'd reviewed the case once again and come to the frightening realization that a lot of people knew me better than I knew myself. This was going to be harder than I thought. I should have gone to the police beforehand but now it was too late to even try. I was buried too deep in this and I must admit, part of me _wanted _to see what this person was capable of.

I mean, a person who knew everything there was to know about me and _more_ was obviously a formidable opponent and I, Kidou Yuuto am not known to back down from a challenge. The first note obviously meant that my adversary would take something 'dear' to me and hold it hostage. My immediate thoughts revolved around Haruna, Sakuma and Genda. They were the closest thing to family I had, apart from my sister- she was my family.

And then there was the game thing- this stalker _wanted _me to chase her. Why? Wouldn't it be better for them to not get caught in the end? Were they so confident in their ability that they would win? For some reason, it did not amuse me in the slightest like egoistic brats usually did- like Leonard. I felt anxious to know how they would execute their plan- if they had a plan.

I mean, he/she was obviously not a force to be reckoned with. They've proven that already. But did they mean by 'gun'? I'm not that violent- not usually. I'm more of the placid and calm guy but this stalker thought I was violent. Why?

And then there were the other notes. The most intriguing of them all was the third one which held a few lines but was the most impotent of them all.

* * *

_Their last breath they will take,_

_I'm telling you,_

_My threat isn't fake-_

_A cat's wrath leaves in its wake;_

_A tiger,_

_Shivering and quaking._

_-X_

* * *

It was just so annoying. I couldn't understand who I knew whose name started with the letter 'x' but I decided to leave that for later. It could wait- for now, I was more concerned with Sakuma's problem and that damned party for Yukira. I wonder what Ann's doing at the moment. What would she feel about the party for Yukira? Would she even go?

Unfortunately, I had no answers for any of my questions.

I just hope no more notes made their way towards me- I'd already run out of desk space for them. The next time anyone came with a note for me, I'd tear it apart and if I happened to see a white rose anywhere near me- I'd stuff it down the deliverer's throat! Okay, maybe my stalker was right. Maybe I am violent but then again, it might not be a good thing for them.

* * *

_Soon, they'd learn to fear me. I'd make sure that bug-eyed freak understands who's in real power here and they'll pay for hurting my angel. They'd pay dearly. In fact, I think they already are._

* * *

Had fun I hope. XD See ya next time Ann, again, directed at my only reader.


	15. Salted Wounds

Here Ann, Surprised? XD You asked for it and lo behold, here it is! ^^ Have fun reading it~

* * *

Sakuma stared at his clock. Annie still hadn't arrived at the park and he was starting to worry. What the hell was keeping that girl?

He felt something inside his stomach flutter nervously- it was probably those mammoth sized butterflies again. He just wished his crush would show up already- it was getting annoying. He paced back and forth, staring at his wrist watch impatiently every five minutes. Surely an hour had already passed and she was still a no show. What was going on?

He jogged around the park to keep warm and eventually sat down on a nearby bench, utterly spent and defeated. She had stood him up. Well, he certainly wasn't going to stand for it- or sit for it on that account either. He wasn't taking that shit from any girl- not even if it was Annie. So what if she'd saved his life? It wasn't like he owed her or anything- it was just that he sort of liked her more than normal.

Sakuma almost screamed out- why on Earth was he feeling guilty when she was the one who had bailed on him? Well, two could play that game. If she wanted to avoid him, then fine. So be it. If she expected him to wait around for her then she was seriously in for a surprise.

But he checked his watch one last time and made his way towards the park gate.

His eye suddenly latched upon a beautiful white flower in the midst of a sea of red ones. Was it a coincidence? He strode towards it nervously and plucked the flower, examining it underneath the dim park lights. Frustrated, he sighed. He needed more light to see it clearly. He was about to walk towards to the lamppost to stand directly underneath it when he felt someone watching him. Spinning around, his eye darted all over the place to see that no one was there at all. Strange.

And stranger still was the fact that he could hear rustling from behind him.

Sakuma slowly made his way back towards the lamppost, cursing himself for alerting the person that he knew he was there. He shouldn't have reacted so strongly. Oh well, nothing he could do about it now except to try to fix the situation as best he could.

Hs intention was to get near the light where his stalker would be hard pressed to find a spot to hide. It was the best plan he had at the moment and Sakuma reached it quickly enough, turning around to scan his surroundings. No one was there except for a few passersby who stared at him as if he was bonkers. Great, now everyone thought he was paranoid. He'd just lost all credibility he had with the townsfolk, considering they thought him to be a one-eyed gangster type guy who was in with the bad crowd.

The repercussions of hanging out with Zonex and Fudou. You'll be labeled that bad guy for life and of course, having a mangled eye didn't help at all; neither did his eye path which covered the damned eye. They hated him when they saw it, they hated him when they couldn't see it. Some people were just impossible to please.

He leaned against the lamppost when his hand suddenly touched something cool and smooth, not at all the cool metal he expected to feel. He inspected the post to see a piece of paper taped to the right side of the post. The side he could see. Sakuma felt himself tense; something was odd about him finding the paper here, at exactly this moment.

He checked to make sure no one was looking and ripped the paper away from the post; turning on his heel to run straight for the dorm- straight for Kidou's room. He would know what to do.

He always did.

"I don't know what to do!" Kidou growled in frustration, staring at the ceiling angrily. He had called Ann to ask her if she was going to the party and she had just told him what Haruna had done. His traitor of a sister hadn't invited one of his newest and closest friends. What was happening to his life? H

aruna had always supported him in the past so why couldn't she trust him this one time?She had retracted her soothing presence the one time he had needed it most.

He continued to glare at the ceiling when a knock on his door interrupted his mental rants. "Uh- I've got to go Ann, I'll call you later," he was both grateful and irritated with his unannounced guest. Whoever it was had saved him from listening to any more tirades about Fusuke but then again, he had wanted to ask Ann about the note she had found. He had it with him of course but he wanted to ask where she had found it.

Anything to help him understand the gibberish it contained.

He strode over to the door and pulled it open to see Sakuma panting, leaning against the wall as he struggled to regain his breath. Only god knew why he had lost it in the first place but Kidou ushered him in all the same.

"What's wrong Sakuma?" he asked once his had caught his breath. Casting a baleful look at his friend, Sakuma held out the note at him and Kidou needed no words for an explanation. Another damned note. He was about to open it when he caught sight of the white flower Sakuma held in his hand.

Okay, so there was no doubt about the fact that the note was from his talker. He only hoped it was easier to decipher than the other notes he had pinned up on his notice board chronologically- first to last. Now there was another one to pin.

He groaned and stared at Sakuma, not needing to voice out his thoughts. "I found it in the park where I was supposed to meet Annie. She bailed on me but Kidou, what if-?" His friend looked stricken, and Kidou understood why. Annie was nowhere to be seen and at the same time, he had found the note.

It was highly coincidental indeed-

_Or brilliantly planned,_ his mind whispered. Kidou hoped it was the former. A psychotic stalker was all he needed on his list of the people he wanted to stay away from- but a stalker who was an excellent planner and co-coordinator was much, much worse.

Things were about to get pretty ugly now and judging by Sakuma's facial expression, it was about to get bad pretty fast.

* * *

Well, at least its moving along. ^^' My apologies to anyone I might or might not have offended... How though? Why did I just say that? O.o? My guess is as good as yours *Insanity*.


	16. The Die Has Been Cast

I stared at him, eyes flashing. Why on earth did those two always have to spend every waking moment together these days? I'd finally gotten her away from that gay honor role student- what does she see in him? What's wrong with people these days? Cant' they take a hint and fucking move on?

I growled softly, making sure I wasn't in sight, obscured by the thick bushes, shrubs and undergrowth. For a community park, this was beyond awful! _What do they pay the gardeners for anyway? Sitting and drooling on their assigned benches? Gah~ Well, whatever, it's in my favor._

I saw the light reflect off his shades as he turned around, talking to her slowly, as if talking to a child. Well, that was one problem solved. There wasn't going to be any hanky-panky between those two.

I watched them as they stood near the lamp post, examining it while the tanned one kept watch, making sure no one took too much notice of them. _They put a guy with one eye up for surveillance? WAY TO GO YUUTA! Now, all I have to do-_

Suddenly, a tall brunet strode onto the field and started waving his arms at them, calling out a little bit too loudly considering he was still quite a distance away. When he reached them, he stared at Kidou, breathing heavily. I could feel my upper lip curling- just what I needed. Now if only I could somehow hear his voice all the way from there while he breathed like a panda made to walk across the room.

Even pandas were better than him but I suddenly realized that he was just the guy I needed.

I saw him flash the universal symbol of agreement, a thumbs up at the other guy and was able to read his lips accurately enough, judging by the distance I was at. Damn, I should have found a better hiding spot. This one was too far away to accurately hear them.

I nervously tugged at my hair; the curl which wrapped around my finger was dangling so deliciously near my cheek- as if tempting me to tug at it. Ah yes, how I loved my confidence curl. But back to the matter at hand, I stared at the blessed boy as he conveyed his plan to his leader. So it all came back to him, huh? Well, I'm ready for you ugly- bring it on! No matter what you think of, or may figure out, I'll always be a million steps ahead of you.

I was about to leave when another one of his friends walked over. I strained my ears in an attempt to hear what they were saying and my efforts were rewarded by the faint murmurs I could make out. "So did you find anything?" he asked the one-eyed boy, perplexed. The addressed boy simply shook his head at the other and resumed his post as the small group's sentry.

"What about you Fudou? Are you going to help us, or not?" Kidou turned around and stared at the other brunet with piercing eyes, his shades miraculously removed for the moment. Maybe he thought it was a talisman or would force Fudou to be honest? My attention slid back to the boy with the snake eyes- Fudou Akio. I had attempted to enlist his help before starting this- had left him an unsigned note to meet me later.

I knew he'd understand what it meant but he hadn't come.

Now he's on my hit list as well- curse him and his arrogance. If he thinks he can beat me, he's way off the mark. Mark reminds me, Kruger… I should really stop getting so distracted by those two Americans. Its best if I leave everything be-

I could see Sakuma's panic and his terror- his fear for Annie's sake and safety- his hope and for some reason, I wanted to make him watch her die. Shattering all those raw emotions, it would be like Heaven on Earth! And I walked away, smiling from ear to ear, my heart soaring up above the clouds, singing the sweetest of melodies.

"Watch out sweetheart, I'm about to give you a show to remember," I whispered softly, staring at the lone figure of the albino standing there on last time, her arms crossed over her chest- proud, angry and defiant of what fate chucked her way.

The wind blew softly as I sneaked away with the shadows the setting sun left behind.

* * *

"So what do you think Ann?" Genda blinked at me with large, appealing eyes. I was stunned by what he had just told me- Yukira gone missing, Annie had disappeared and now, the roses. Kidou had definitely not mentioned the roses to me- the notes I knew about, seeing as I'd gotten a few myself but what the hell was going on?

Genda's dark blue eyes stared at me, his gaze unwavering and I had no choice but to nod slowly. What he said made sense but there was just one problem. How could it be possible?

Unable to understand anything, I felt frustration mounting up inside me and out of sheer anger, turned on the boy with the dreadlocks staring into the distance, "Why didn't you tell me about any of this before? Why did you keep all of it from me?" I felt my voice choking up but continued anyway, raw emotion leading me now instead of logic or reasoning.

"Why did you keep me in the dark? Goddammit, I'm as much a part of this as you! I didn't ask for this but I have to know!" I could feel tears threatening to spill from my eyes and quickly glanced away, trying to even my breathing and stop the shaking of my hands.

When had I clenched them into fists?

"It was necessary to tell you. I didn't want you to worry, I can sort this out myself," Kidou muttered, refusing to look at me after my outburst. He slid his shades back on and obscured his deep blood-red eyes once more, the ancient wisdom they held hidden from the world. It seemed as if he had aged about ten years during the past few weeks and I instantly felt sorry for him and regretted my outburst.

But his argument was invalid- what did he think he was protecting me from anyway? I was about to speak up and point this out, that I could be next on the list as we spoke but Fudou suddenly interrupted me and held up a hand.

"Good old Kidou-kun. Always thinks he can deal with _anything_ on his own and doesn't need the help of mere _ordinary mortals_ who don't match his IQ level. Of course it wasn't necessary to tell _you _Ann, he can handle it after all. I mean, you're just a silly girl. Isn't that what you thought about the _last _girl and look where you ended up because of her! Of course he doesn't need help from his friends; we're just the audience here. Well, I'm tired of it. I'm leaving- call me when you need me." Saying this, Fudou started to walk away, his words resonating throughout the group's minds and finally, after a few moments, Kidou held up a hand and called out to him.

"Fudou, you're right. I'm sorry Ann," he admitted quietly, his voice exuding gentle dignity and regret. The brunet raised an eyebrow and sauntered back to the group, smirking. "Finally got through your thick head that you need help, Kidou-kun?" Kidou gritted his teeth and nodded without a word and I felt sorry for him.

Fudou was just so irritating, even I wanted to slap him silly.

I suddenly noticed that Kidou was waiting for me to respond and I nodded quickly, glancing at Fudou every now and then. He had really surprised me when he took my side. "It's alright Kidou-kun, I forgive you. I just want to know why you kept it from me," I smiled at him gently, reassuringly. Kidou stared at me from behind those large shades and then glanced at Sakuma who broke out.

"It's because this stalker is playing a game and Kidou is the opponent." I quickly swiveled around to stare at Sakuma who had given up his position as sentry and was leaning against the lamp post with a bitter expression. "The rest of us are just pawns in the game and one of us is the queen and this person is determined to steal her," Sakuma continued, staring at the sky and shaking his head angrily.

I couldn't' bring myself to believe what he said. "O-one of us is the what?" I stuttered whilst Fudou swore angrily and stared at Kidou, his eyes burning. "Ever thought that this girl might be in danger? What about Annie and Yukira, huh? Why aren't you calling the police?" He was yelling by the time he was done but Kidou held his own ground, staring back without flinching.

He had nerve all right- I would have crumpled and died under Fudou's furious glare.

I shivered, chilled despite the evening's warm breeze.

"We weren't sure about it back then but we have, unknown to you, informed the concerned authorities. I've called the police and have a private detective hired. So yes Fudou Akio, I have taken the appropriate measures." At that moment, I felt nothing but awe and respect for Kidou who was still facing Fudou stonily till Fudou flushed with embarrassment and looked away, muttering a short apology.

"So, what do you think? Is it Zonex?" Genda asked, making my head spin around and rest my gaze on him. I felt my mouth go dry and I stared at Fudou and Sakuma nod, the former exclaiming his affirmation whilst Kidou merely responded with a 'we can't be too sure yet' and I felt relieved. I turned around and narrowed my eyes at Genda.

"What makes you think its Zo?" I asked him venomously, challenging him to give proof. He stared at me with shock, scratching his head as he replied, "Well, for one, she's done a runner too. And she is the only one we know who's smart enough to think up of all this _and_ she hates Kidou too. It all fits." I couldn't believe him, I just couldn't.

What they were trying to tell me was that they thought Zonex was a murderer. I felt a sudden surge of loyalty and annoyance flow through my veins and I stared at him with disbelief, snorting.

"Ever considered that _she_ might have been kidnapped too? That she might be one of the victims as well, instead of the villain? What is up with you guys, framing her, huh? And what about the queen? Are you telling me that Zonex is Lesbian? Two of you are her exes!" I spat out, clenching the ends of my shirt to keep from hammering some sense into the idiot. I was about to continue when Sakuma's voice rang out in the clearing.

"Well, she _does_ hate Kidou and we can't know about that Ann," his voice was gentle but I could see the loathing in his eye, the hurt and remorse he felt when he mentioned my name, so like his beloved's. "So you're just going to assume she's guilty until proven innocent? That's foul!" I exclaimed, repulsed by their theory and turning to Kidou, who had been silent all this time. "Help me out here!" I cried out, biting my lip to keep from abusing them.

Kidou looked up and shrugged, as if helplessly before speaking. "I'm sorry Ann but Zonex has proven to be a threat in the past before as well. We're not saying it IS her, just that it MIGHT be her." Fudou walked over to Kidou and stuck his hand out, his expression one of humility and respect. "I'm sorry for treating you so badly Kidou-kun. I'll help you catch Zo-" he stopped midsentence, glancing at me before hastily continuing. "-Catch whoever is behind this."

Kidou smiled at him and grasped his hand, shaking it heartily. Genda stood watching them, his steel blue eyes round with amazement while Sakuma just gave a stained smiled.

Whoever was bitching us around ad better watch out- Fudou and Kidou were working together and no one could stop them then.

* * *

Done~ Here you go Ann, here's the chapter you asked *cough/cough* me to write today~ Have fun! ^^

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